KCR meets Jaitley, seeks spl status for TS

• Tells him state is not getting any revenue from Hyd as projected
• Revenue is getting divided as some companies are forced to pay taxes in both states

New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and demanded special status for the newly carved state.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, senior TRS leader and party deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha B Vinod Kumar said the issue of backwardness of the state was discussed with the finance minister to justify their demand for the Special Status.

Of the 10 districts in Telangana, eight were declared as backward by the Planning Commission. Moreover, the Special Status was vital to the state as it had been newly formed, he said.

The finance minister, Vinod said, had queried about the need for a Special Status for Telangana, as revenue-generating Hyderabad was part of the newly created state. He said they told him that Hyderabad was not getting the revenue as was being projected.

Oil companies and AP Beverages Corporation in undivided Andhra Pradesh used to pay taxes in Hyderabad. Now, with the state divided these companies invariably have to pay taxes in both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Therefore, Hyderabad, which was projected as collecting more taxes, was not getting the taxes as it was projected earlier, he said.

He also said that the Telangana Chief Minister held detailed discussions about devolution of funds and tax incentives for the state.