Claiming Centre's inaction, Andhra to set up Kadapa steel plant, Vizag Metro on its own

Earlier this year, the Centre withdrew its decision to establish a steel plant in Kadapa, which triggered massive protests in the district.

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Alleging inaction by the Centre, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday cleared three major proposals including the decision to set up a steel plant in the state's Kadapa district, which was assured in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

The cabinet also decided to go ahead with the Metro Rail in Visakhapatnam, another long-pending proposal, under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, besides allotting close to 2,400 acres of land to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) to develop a mega industrial park in Prakasam district.

According to media reports, the three-corridor Vizag Metro would be built over a stretch of 42.55 km at a cost of Rs 8,300 crore.

“If the Centre is willing, the state will extend its full cooperation. Otherwise, the state will take up construction with private partnership,” Andhra Information and Public Relations Minister Kalva Srinivasulu told reporters.

Earlier this year, the Centre withdrew its decision to establish a steel plant in Kadapa, a long-pending demand in the state, claiming that the project was financially unviable.

As a result, the district witnessed a total shutdown in June this year, as protests and demonstrations were staged at several places, even as offices and educational institutes from schools to colleges remained closed. All private and public buses operated by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) also stayed off the roads.

TDP MP from Kadapa, CM Ramesh, also went on a 11-day hunger strike to back the demand.

At the time, Naidu also said that if the Centre took an initiative, the state government was willing to invest 50% in the project. However, claiming that the Centre was not willing to act, the state cabinet passed a resolution on Tuesday.

In January this year, the Andhra Pradesh government made a fresh plea to the Centre for the construction of metro rail projects in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. The plea was submitted by Naidu to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a meeting in New Delhi. However, the state claimed that no result came out of that proposal as well.