The budget addressed the main demands of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a critical member of the ruling NDA at the Centre, as it promised a loan of ₹15,000 crore for developing Amaravati as the state capital, financing and early completion of Polavaram dam as well as grants for backward districts of the state.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whose party provides crucial support of 16 Lok Sabha members, had been raising these demands and also exhorting the Centre to meet its commitments made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. “Our government has made concerted efforts to fulfil the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech. “Recognising the state’s need for a capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year, ₹15,000 crore will be arranged, with additional amounts in future years.”
The finance minister later clarified that this would be a loan, not a package. Speaking at the post-budget press conference, she said, “I have already mentioned it in the budget speech that ₹15,000 crore (to Andhra) is coming through the multi-lateral development assistance which we borrow from multilateral banks whether it is the World Bank or ADB or AIB. And I had also ended that paragraph by saying further assistance will also be extended.” The clarification assumes importance as Amaravati is Naidu’s pet project. The previous YSRCP government had proposed to develop three capital cities for Andhra.
Besides, the budget addressed Naidu’s demands for funds for Polavaram and backward districts, even as the finance minister did not mention any specific numbers. “Our government is fully committed to financing and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, which is the lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers. This will facilitate our country’s food security as well,” the finance minister said. “Grants for backward regions of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal Andhra, as stated in the Act, will also be provided,” she said.
Sitharaman also promised funds for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways and roads in Kopparthy node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, both approved projects.
