KCR meets PM, seeks special status for Telangana

HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accord special status to the state on the lines of Andhra Pradesh.
He also sought the Centre's assistance for power and irrigation projects, clearance of pending railway projects and the setting up of a separate high court for Telangana.
The chief minister met Modi with a long wish list of 21 issues.Chandrasekhar Rao asked the Centre to expedite the construction of the 4,000 MW power project by NTPC in Telangana as promised in the AP Reorganization Act. He explained the urgency of the power project in the backdrop of current energy crisis in the newly-created state.
KCR also asked him to grant national status for Pranahita-Chevella irrigation project, approval for Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor, steel plant at Bayyaram in Khammam district by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), four greenfield airports in north Telangana and rail coach factory at Kazipet in Warangal.
He requested Modi to inaugurate the Metropolis World Congress to be held in Hyderabad from October 7 to 10. Over 1,000 delegates, including mayors from over 60 cities from across the world, are expected to attend the meet. He also apprised him about the purpose of the intensive household survey that was conducted by the state government.
Chandrashekar Rao also met Union power minister Piyush Goyal and asked him to take up a solar power project in Telangana to which the minister agreed. Later he met law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and asked to create a separate high court for Telangana.
During his whirlwind tour he also called on President Pranab Mukherjee.
Talking to reporters TRS Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao said, "We have told the Prime Minister that we have conducted the household survey and got the best out of it. We informed him about the benefits of the survey."