Andhra Pradesh’s confidence of securing the NTPC-BHEL Power Projects Pvt Limited is boosted by the assertion of officials of both the joint venture companies that the site near Srikalahasti in Chittoor district is best suited for the project as compared to what is being offered by Rajasthan.
"After visiting the sites offered by half a dozen states including Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, the technical evaluation team of NBPPL zeroed in on Srikalahasti because of its proximity to the sea port," NBPPL chief managing director C P Singh said in his letter to the Centre.
According to the sources, chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy also told Vilasrao Deshmukh that it was the proximity of Srikalahasti to Krishnapatnam port that tilted the scales in favour of AP. "All the thermal plants in the country are coming up in the coastal area as they are dependent on imported coal. So, supplying equipment to these plants will be easier if the plant is located near Srikalahasti," is what the CM said.
Rajasthan’s contention is that it is an "industrially backward and unattractive" state whereas Andhra Pradesh has got all the necessary infrastructure to attract investments, both domestic and foreign, in a big way. "In the past five years, AP has become a major destination for massive private investment while Rajasthan lagged behind as it has no infrastructure to attract at least a fraction of the investments which AP got. So, states like Rajasthan should be given priority for setting up at least public sector units," is the argument being put forth by Gehlot, the sources said.
There is a political angle to the tussle between the two states as well. Rajasthan’s argument is that if AP contributed 33 Lok Sabha members to the Congress at the Centre, it did not lag behind by returning 20 MPs out of the total 25.
State government officials are confident that Rajasthan’s move is only a hiccup that will be easily overcome.
"After visiting the sites offered by half a dozen states including Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, the technical evaluation team of NBPPL zeroed in on Srikalahasti because of its proximity to the sea port," NBPPL chief managing director C P Singh said in his letter to the Centre.
According to the sources, chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy also told Vilasrao Deshmukh that it was the proximity of Srikalahasti to Krishnapatnam port that tilted the scales in favour of AP. "All the thermal plants in the country are coming up in the coastal area as they are dependent on imported coal. So, supplying equipment to these plants will be easier if the plant is located near Srikalahasti," is what the CM said.
Rajasthan’s contention is that it is an "industrially backward and unattractive" state whereas Andhra Pradesh has got all the necessary infrastructure to attract investments, both domestic and foreign, in a big way. "In the past five years, AP has become a major destination for massive private investment while Rajasthan lagged behind as it has no infrastructure to attract at least a fraction of the investments which AP got. So, states like Rajasthan should be given priority for setting up at least public sector units," is the argument being put forth by Gehlot, the sources said.
There is a political angle to the tussle between the two states as well. Rajasthan’s argument is that if AP contributed 33 Lok Sabha members to the Congress at the Centre, it did not lag behind by returning 20 MPs out of the total 25.
State government officials are confident that Rajasthan’s move is only a hiccup that will be easily overcome.
0 comments:
Post a Comment