Naidu calls on Shah, seeks financial package to revive Andhra economy

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. 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. 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. 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.