Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao said that the State would get special category state Status sooner than later.
“Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu is making all out efforts to convince the Centre on grant of status to the State early. We have full faith in the Union government. Our efforts will bear fruit soon,” said Mr Rao who turned 59.
Talking to reporters on the occasion, he said it was unfortunate that the Congress, which had hastily divided the State without including special status in the State Reorganisation Bill, was blaming the TDP for narrow political gains. “The Congress party has not learnt any lesson from the poll debacle,” he added.
“We have started the process of identifying 300 acres of land in Prakasam district for Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) to be named after former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam,” he explained, adding that the State would get all the educational institutions promised by the Centre one after another.
The Centre was extending full support to Andhra Pradesh to leapfrog in growth post-bifurcation, he said referring to the sanctioning of a modern driving track in his home constituency of Darsi by the Centre to train 4,000 drivers per year and renew driving licence of 16,000 other drivers every year. The State would get two driving tracks shortly.
The Rs. 5000 crore Donakonda industrial city would become operational early as a leading Chinese company had evinced interest in collaborating with the APIIC, he explained. The 16 checkposts in the State would be upgraded and CC cameras installed this year so that they functioned in a transparent manner.