The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is seen as unlikely to assist the AP government for constructing the most crucial metro rail projects and the Ramayapatnam port in the state. It is being said that the Centre’s answers to the questions asked by an activist named Isaganti Ravikumar under the Right to Information Act are likely to become embarrassing for the state government.
In response to a question regarding the Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada metro trains, the Centre said that the proposals made by the state government are not new, but old proposals from five years ago. It is noteworthy that for this reason, funds are not being released. It explained that there was no response from the state government even after it was asked to send new proposals as per the rules.
While stating this, it said that the state government has prepared a DPR for the Vijayawada metro project at a cost of Rs 11,009 crores, and that it cannot disclose the details as it is under review. Now, there is no dispute over what should be built in Dugarajapatnam and Ramayapatnam. It was decided to build a port in Dugarajapatnam in the AP Reorganization Act. The law stipulated that this major port should be completed by 2018.
However, since Krishnapatnam is 40 km away from this area and Chennai Port is 80 km away, the Dugarajapatnam proposal did not go ahead as the NITI Aayog was of the opinion that Dugarajapatnam would have an adverse impact on both ports. As a result, the state government proposed to merge this port with Ramayapatnam after 2019.
The state government also issued a gazette notification in February 2020 declaring Ramayapatnam as a non-major port. However, the Center set Ramayapatnam aside as it was mentioned as a major port in the AP Reorganization Act. The Center has decided that a legislative amendment will have to be made first to give permission to Ramayapatnam.
It is noteworthy that the Center has recently revealed that there has been no response from the state government on this so far. However, it is noteworthy that in the letters written by the state since 2022, it has been requested by the Center not to put pressure on the status of Ramayapatnam and to release Rs. 4,992 crores for this port. Although the Center has referred this proposal to the Law Ministry, no decision has been taken so far.
At the same time, the Center reminded that the Union Ministry of Ports has also ordered the submission of a financial feasibility report for setting up a shipbuilding/repair facility in Dugarajapatnam.