AP Owes Rs 6,958 Crore To Indian Railways

[Anta Assamey]

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and even former CM of Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao frequently spoke of pending funds to be released by the Centre, with regard to some taxes or execution of some project.

However, with respect to the Indian railways, the case is different. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka owe more than Rs 9,000 crore to the Railways as their cost share for projects executed in their states. Of the three states, Andhra Pradesh tops the others owing Rs 6,958 crore towards railway projects being executed on a cost-sharing basis with the Centre.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Telangana owes Rs 1,253 crore while Karnataka needs to pay Rs 928 crore to the Indian Railways.

Recently, APCC chief Y.S. Sharmila revealed that Jagan needs Rs 55,000 crore to implement Navaratnas every year. But the state has already drawn more than Rs 8.5 lakh crore loans from various sources, despite failing to give any subsidy on fuels and also increasing various taxes.

Now, it has also been revealed that the state owes nearly Rs 7,000 crore to the Railways. This fact also leads to queries on the role of the numerous advisors the government has appointed.