New Delhi: Reacting to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to skip the August 7 meeting, NITI Aayog said, “it is unfortunate that KCR has decided not to attend tomorrow's NITI Aayog governing council meeting which will be chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In its media release, NITI Aayog said its Governing Council is a platform where we discuss issues related to critical development at the state level and take decisions related to national development. It said that NITI Aayog Vice-chairman or its members have conducted more than 30 meetings with the state Chief Ministers last year alone.

Countering some of the allegations made by KCR, the NITI Aayog said, “a delegation led by NITI Aayog’s Vice-chairman had met the Telangana Chief Minister in Hyderabad in January 2021 to discuss development issues related to the state,” but he “did not respond” to recent requests for more such meetings.

For tomorrow's governing council meeting, the NITI Aayog held consultations between the Centre and the states, including Telangana, the statement said. The Telangana Chief Minister's allegation that the states are not cooperating in the preparation of the agenda is not correct, it added.

Also Read: Telangana CM KCR to Boycott NITI Aayog Meet Tomorrow

Over the last 4 years, the Central government allocated Rs 3,982 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission for the State of Telangana. But the state chose to draw only Rs 200 crore. In addition, Rs 1,195 crore was released to Telangana under PMKSY-AIBP-CADWM during 2014-2015 to 2021-2022.