E-Paper
Naidu calls on Shah, seeks financial package to revive Andhra economy
Naidu, who went to New Delhi on Tuesday evening, met Shah around 10pm and apprised him of the financial crisis in the state due to the alleged lopsided policies of the previous YSR Congress party government.
Hyderabad A week ahead of the presentation of the Union budget on July 23, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday night to seek a financial package for the state as part of a comprehensive recovery plan to bring its economy back on track.
Naidu, who went to New Delhi on Tuesday evening, met Shah around 10pm and apprised him of the financial crisis in the state due to the alleged lopsided policies of the previous YSR Congress party government.
Soon after his meeting, the chief minister wrote on X: “Today in New Delhi, I met with the Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Shri @AmitShah Ji, to apprise him of the devastating condition of finances that Andhra Pradesh had slipped into over the past five years.”
“I also discussed the findings of the four White Papers released, outlining the staggering debt accumulated between FY 2019-24 that spiralled our state’s finances out of control. Economic incompetence, gross mismanagement, and rampant corruption by the previous government have caused irreparable damage to our state,” he said in his post.
He said that the NDA government will honour the mandate given to the people of Andhra Pradesh by devising “a comprehensive recovery plan” to bring the “state’s economy back on track”.
A senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader familiar with the development said though it was expected that Naidu would also meet Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman on Wednesday morning, the meeting did not materialise. The chief minister returned to Vijayawada in the afternoon.
TDP spokesman N Vijay Kumar said though the Centre might not announce any huge financial assistance to the state in the upcoming Union budget, it is possible that it might announce a special package for the revival of the Amaravati capital city project, infrastructure development like roads and highways, agriculture sector and liberal assistance under externally-aided projects, besides a revival package for the Polavaram major irrigation project, which has virtually been abandoned by the previous government.
“More importantly, the Centre might also give relaxation to the state under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act to allow additional off-market borrowings up to another ₹40,000 crore, besides ₹47,000 crore already allowed for the first six months of the financial year,” Kumar said.
Besides the financial package, the chief minister is lobbying for central assistance to several major projects to the state, including outer and inner rings roads for Amaravati connecting the capital with the national highway, and a metro rail project for Visakhapatnam.
The major announcement in the Union budget being expected by Naidu is the establishment of an oil refinery and petrochemical complex by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at a cost of ₹60,000 crore. Naidu took up this matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union minister for petroleum Hardeep Singh Puri during his last visit on July 4.
“On July 10, a delegation of the BPCL led by its chairman and managing director Gopalan Krishna Kumar came down to Amaravati to discuss with Naidu on the setting up of an oil refinery and petrochemical complex on the vast coastline of the state. Naidu agreed to allocate 5,000 acres of land mostly in Machilipatnam,” the TDP spokesman said.
According to another senior TDP leader who preferred anonymity, Naidu, during his last visit to New Delhi, sought immediate financial assistance of ₹15,000 crore for Amaravati capital city itself, including for highway network, ₹12,000 crore for taking up works on Polavaram; an amount of ₹15,000 crore to clear the overdraft to the RBI taken by the previous Jagan government and ₹10,000 crore towards long-term loan for creation of other infrastructural facilities.
Naidu is also asking the central assistance for the speedy development of the international airport at Vijayawada and the implementation of central drinking water projects.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and state health minister Y Satya Kumar said on Wednesday that the state government had also asked for ₹1,000 crore under the National Health Mission (NHM) scheme. “The funds are required for improving the healthcare infrastructure in the state,” he said.
