The Tentacles of the Seemandhra Moneybags Run Deep and Wide

The root cause of the Seemandhra opposition to the free state of Telangana is the fear of their illicit agreements with the AP Government coming to light. The principal opponents to the Telangana state are the business houses, which proliferated during the reign of Naidu and YSR, these businesses are easy to identify, they came in from nowhere, were promoted by the landlords from the Andhra and Rayalseema region, and the main area of operations for these businesses was Government contracts whether it be mining, construction, power, etc.

The Seemandhra movement for a unified Andhra state has died down and they are back in business, having received assurance from the Center and the State administration on the continuance of status quo, after paying the blood money of 10,000 crores to the Congress Party fund. The latest addition to the Government sanctioned plunder of the states resources is the clearance given to the 445-MW capacity Konaseema private power project to start power generation at a rate of Rs 2.80 a unit. The initial price at which the project was commissioned was Rs. 1.75 per unit, the Government’s revised offer now is a whopping 60% above the original price. And what of the antecedents of the owners of Konaseema Power Project, it is promoted by VBC (Visakhapatnam Bottling Company), a business house that has been in and out of BIFR until 2001, when it suddenly became a profit making company. Surprisingly, the fortunes of this company tail in with the Naidu and YSR regimes.

Not only this, a look at the power purchase agreements the State Government has entered into with Private Power Companies in the last decade, will throw more light on how these businesses got entrenched into the system. The Government entered into a MOU with GVK in 1996 for purchasing power at a rate of Rs.1.80, with Spectrum in 1997 at Rs.1.99, with LANCO in 1999 at Rs.2.57 and finally now with Konaseema at Rs.2.80. This has been commented upon by the Comptroller and Auditor General in almost all its audits, but was conveniently swept under the carpet. As against this, Reliance Power has contracted to build Tilaiya 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project at a tariff of just Rs.1.77 per unit.!!! No wonder these business houses collectively paid silence money to the Central Leadership, to backtrack on its commitment to form a separate state.

This plunder of the state’s coffers and resources by the Seemandhra white collar bandits with the collusion of the State administration cannot go on forever. And the time will come when these buccaneers can no longer purchase the future of Telangana. The day is not far when the voice of 3.5 crore people will make itself heard above the jingle of silver and the rustle of notes. And that day Telangana will be a reality.

Jai Telangana. Jai Hind