Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said that the YSR Congress government borrowed Rs 9.74 lakh crore in five years. The average borrowing was Rs 1.44 lakh crore, he said. Chandrababu Naidu presented a white paper on the finances of the state in the Assembly on the day.
He said that the government between 2014 and 2019 had created a positive atmosphere for investors. The government invited investments in a large scale, he said and the government had signed MoUs for Rs 16 lakh crore, he said. Works started for industries worth Rs 5 lakh crore, he said.
He said that the state had lost heavily in the bifurcation. Andhra Pradesh has less urban areas and accordingly the revenue to the state was less. Andhra Pradesh has 46 per cent revenue while Telangana has 54 per cent, he said. Big companies and offices were established in Hyderabad and the revenue was generated from there, he said.
He said that the issues related to Schedule IX and X of the AP Reorganisation Act were not resolved. While the service sector went to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has more agriculture, he said. The long coastal line is an advantage for Andhra Pradesh, he said and added that development should be planned with the coastal line in focus.
He said that the previous TDP government had constructed Pattiseema Project at a cost of Rs 1667 crore. The previous YSR Congress government did not operate the Pattiseema project, he said. With Pattiseema, the state got Rs 44,000 crore revenue. The TDP government also developed Vijayawada, Tirupati, Rajamahendravaram and Kadapa airports, he said. Visakhpatnam-Chennai and Bengaluru-Hyderabad industrial corridors were also developed during the TDP regime before 2019, he said.
Polavaram project was not completed in the last five years, Chandrababu Naidu said. The disinterest shown by the YSR Congress government led to damage to the diaphragm wall. The expert committee had recommended construction of a new diaphragm wall, he said. This would cost Rs 994 crore, he added. If Polavaram was completed, the state would have gained Rs 40,000 crore additional revenue, he said.
Amaravati was also ignored by the previous government, Naidu said. He said that the state would have received Rs 3 lakh crore revenue and 7.72 lakh new jobs if Amaravati was continued. He said that the state had lost Rs 7,000 crore through sand, Rs 9,750 crore through mining, during the last five years.
Chandrababu Naidu said that this government would implement all promises made by the NDA during the elections. The super six promises would be implemented at any cost, he said. He appealed to the members of the NDA to support the government to rebuild Andhra Pradesh.
