AP Finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu defends payments to industrialists

Companies owned by Mr Pulla Rao received Rs 3,8173,830. The amount was credited as incentives for Siva Swathi Textiles at Ganapavaram village of Nadendla Mandal in Guntur district and Swathi Cotton in Veluru village of Chilakaluripeta in Guntur district. This was in the second list.

According to officials, in the two lists combined, Mr Pulla Rao’s companies received around Rs 10 crore. Sree Rayalaseema Alkalies and Allied Chemicals, located at Gondiparla village in Kurnool district got Rs 25 crore as arrears. The company belongs to Mr Venkatesh who had joined the TD just before the last Assembly elections.

Rayalaseema Alkalies representatives said that the government had to pay them about Rs 20 crore more.

Another major beneficiary is the NSL group of textiles companies that got Rs 47.61 crore. The group belongs to Prabhakar Rao of the famous Nuziveedu Seeds.

In the cement sector, the biggest beneficiary is Dalmia Cement that got Rs 71 crore. Revali Spinners of Tanuku in West Godavari district received Rs 2.93 crore. The company is owned by Vanka Ravindranath who had contested as an MP from Narasapuram on a YSRC ticket.

Interestingly, the government credited the arrears for Revali Spinners in a State Bank account in the Tanuku branch. The amount was received Rs 3,76,43,855 as incentives for Bala Balaji Textiles. A total of '6,69,70,635 was credited in one account for the two companies.

The agro, cement and pipe companies owned by Nandyal MP S.P.Y. Reddy also got around Rs 25 crore as incentives.

Officials said that the government usually sanctions around Rs 150 crore in the Budget for incentives, however, for the first time, the government sanctioned and released Rs 2,060 crore in just one month. That too when the state is facing a financial crunch.

The committee opined that there were some irregularities in the allotment of land to the thermal power plant. Speaking to media, labour minister K. Atchennaidu said the government will take back the land allotted to the power plant. He added that the Cabinet sub-committee has directed officials to prepare a file for taking back lands by the next meeting, as per rules and legal opinion.

Previous Congress government had allotted 972 acres of land at Sompet to Nagarjuna industries for setting up a 2,640 MW thermal power project. Locals, opposed it, and three persons died in police firing at a large group of farmers and fishermen, protesting the project.