Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought financial handholding by the Centre to tide over the “acute scarcity of resources”.
The Chief Minister said that the fiscal situation in Andhra Pradesh has significantly deteriorated due to the previous government’s “misadventures”.
According to a statement by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), he brought to the Prime Minister’s notice that committed expenses, including salaries, pensions, and debt servicing, exceed the state’s revenue receipts, leaving no fiscal space for productive capital investment.
The situation has reached such an impasse due to gross mismanagement of state finances by the previous government, he contended.
“Indiscriminate borrowing marked by hypothecation of future excise revenues and pledging of government buildings, combined with large scale diversion of monies has resulted in a situation of high public expectation and acute scarcity of resources. There is no other way to face such a challenge except by way of financial handholding by the Central government,” he said.
Naidu also sought the Centre’s support in the commissioning of the Polavaram National Irrigation Project, comprehensive financial support for the completion of the government complex and trunk infrastructure of the capital city of Amaravati, and incentives for industrial development.
The Chief Minister also urged the Prime Minister to consider an additional allocation under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment, targeting essential sectors such as roads, bridges, irrigation, and drinking water projects. He also sought support for the backward regions of Andhra Pradesh on lines of the Bundelkhand package and support for the development of Duggirajupatnam port.
Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a key partner in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, highlighted the fact that Andhra Pradesh continues to grapple with the repercussions of the unscientific, unfair, and unjust bifurcation of 2014.
Additionally, the miserable governance of the previous administration marked by malice, corruption and misgovernance has dealt a more deleterious blow to the state than bifurcation itself, he alleged.
In his first meeting with the Prime Minister after assuming office as the Chief Minister on June 13, Naidu also flagged “that on account of unproductive expenditure and fiscal hara-kiri marked by the exploitation of natural resources for personal use and no focus on the development of human resources, growth has plummeted, revenue receipts have tapered, and liabilities have peaked”.
The aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh were paid no heed by the previous government as the wake of its misgovernance is marked by huge unpaid liabilities, no investment in crucial infrastructure like the Polavaram project, water resources, roads and capital city, he said.
The Prime Minister discussed the steps, which could be taken to meet the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Naidu congratulated the PM on assuming the office for a third consecutive term and reposed confidence in his leadership. He stated that in this historic election, which saw an unprecedented victory of the NDA coalition, the people of Andhra Pradesh have emphatically placed their trust in them, thereby granting both leaders a significant mandate to fulfil their promises and commitments.
According to the statement, the meeting was very positive and focussed on positive outcomes for Andhra Pradesh.
Before meeting the Prime Minister, Naidu called on Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. He later had separate meetings with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and Power and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, as well as 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya.