CM Naidu (left) with PM Modi
During his meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sought the Centre’s support to rebuild his debt-ridden state, including by providing support for the reconstruction of Amaravati, the Polavaram irrigation project and by providing additional borrowings to the state this fiscal.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Andhra CM has demanded financial assistance of over Rs 1 trillion. It said Naidu has asked for a substantial part of the assistance to be disbursed from this year’s national budget.
The financial package of over Rs 100,000 crore, the Bloomberg According to the report, the fiscal deficit ceiling of 3 percent of the state’s gross domestic product would be raised by allowing 0.5 percent additional borrowing for the fiscal year through March 2025, equivalent to about Rs 70 billion.
The Andhra government has also sought Rs 50,000 crore for the construction of Amaravati, Rs 12,000 crore in this fiscal for the Polavaram irrigation project, Rs 15,000 crore over the next five years to clear outstanding debts and Rs 10,000 crore for infrastructure development under the federal government’s 50-year loan programme.
According to sources, the Finance Minister has assured Naidu that she will examine Andhra’s demands within the broader fiscal constraints.
Addressing the media, Naidu said his party was ready to head a coordination committee that could form the National Democratic Alliance. “If and when required, I am prepared. If there is a proposal from the NDA, I will think about it,” he said. Naidu was the convener of the NDA in 2013-14. The Andhra CM said his party did not negotiate on ministerial posts and its focus was on the development of the state.
“We did not ask for any ministerial post from the Centre even during the time of (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee. Whatever was offered, we accepted,” he recalled, while accepting the post of Lok Sabha Speaker during the Vajpayee era to maintain good relations with the alliance.
“The party’s priority is to rebuild Andhra Pradesh, which has suffered irreparable losses in the last five years. Our aim is to rebuild the state in the next five years. The people of Andhra Pradesh have given a mandate to the NDA. We will work together,” he added.
Asked about investors’ concerns over the state’s political climate, Naidu asserted that his government would “control the devil”, in an apparent reference to the opposition YSR Congress Party. “Global investors are approaching us. They are worried about the devil. We assure them that we will control him,” Naidu said.
Naidu said key government buildings, including a new secretariat, assembly and high court, would be completed as soon as possible. “We will build infrastructure facilities in Amaravati,” he added, referring to the greenfield capital city project. He expressed satisfaction over the Centre’s commitment to construct 135 government buildings as part of the bifurcation act.
The Prime Minister also said that he will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos to invite investors, indicating his desire to personally lead Andhra Pradesh’s economic revival on the world stage.
First print: 05 Jul 2024 | 23:33 IST