Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, a key ally of BJP-led NDA, is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman this week to raise budget-specific demands for the state.
Naidu is likely to discuss his expectations from the budget, which is likely to be presented in the third week of July. According to sources, the two top demands are funds to the tune of 15,000 crore for development of Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh and additional funds for construction of Polavaram project.
While Naidu will not demand special category status for Andhra Pradesh, the CM is eyeing specific announcements in the budget. The state needs 12,100 crore for completion of the first phase of Polavaram irrigation project. The bone of contention has been cost escalation owing to delays in implementation, increase in land required for the project and then acquired and the number of persons displaced by the project.
Projects on the list drawn by Naidu’s government include demands related to railways, jal shakti ministry and housing and urban affairs. The state is likely to demand Metro projects in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and light rail project in Amravati. Naidu also expects announcement of Vande Bharat train from Vijayawada to Mumbai and New Delhi and long-distance trains from Visakhapatnam to Chennai and Bengaluru. According to sources, operationalisation of South Coast Railway zone, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, will also be raised as it has been in limbo for quite some time. The state will also be seeking grants for development of certain districts, including Rayalaseema and Prakasam.
A highly-placed government source, who did not wish to be identified, told ET: “The state is expecting specific announcements in the budget. The biggest demand is for Polavaram project where the chief minister feels there has been mismanagement by the previous YSRCP government.” Last week, Naidu had said the Polavaram project was 72% completed under TDP’s rule, whereas only 3.84% of the work had been done during former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure. He accused Jagan of misusing 3,385 crore allocated for this project.
Naidu’s 16 MPs provide crucial support to BJP at the Centre and has two members in the Union Council of Ministers. BJP is also a part of Andhra government and has one Cabinet minister.
