Jagan to meet Modi on 28 Dec; G20, Polavaram on the agenda

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 28 December. Jagan will leave for Delhi on the evening of 27 December from Gannavaram airport. He will meet Mr. Modi the next day at noon.

Jagan, during his meeting with the Prime Minister, is set to finalise the plan for the G20 meeting scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on 3 February and 24 April 2023. The Prime Minister is likely to be invited for the laying of the foundation stone of the Kadapa steel plant in January 2023. The steel plant was given to the Jindal group which will spend Rs. 8,880 crores.

Sources said the Chief Minister is also likely to discuss and give a representation for the release of funds for the Polavaram projects. He is likely to ask Centre's support for the early completion of the Polavaram project. Works on the project started in 2005 when the project cost was estimated at Rs. 10,151 crores, as per the 2005-06 price level. After missing several deadlines and targeting to complete the project by June 2024, the state government revised the cost to be approved based on the 2017-18 price level, which is Rs. 55,548.87 crores. Jagan, during several meetings, has asked the Centre to reimburse Rs. 2,900 crores spent by the state government on the project.

During the meeting on 28 December, Jagan will likely request the PM to clear the bills fortnightly, not component-wise, like in other national projects.

He will also discuss pending issues, particularly of state bifurcation, special status, and pending power dues of Rs. 6,756 crores to be paid by Telangana for the electricity supplied as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014.

This is the third time CM Jagan has interacted with Mr. Modi this month, after two meetings for the G20 summit chaired by Prime Minister Modi and a recently held video conference.