HYDERABAD: Alleging that the ‘flawed and short-sighted’ policies of the Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh in the past 10 years had emptied the coffers, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said it is a Herculean task for him to bail the State out of the grave financial crisis as AP is left with only Rs 5,791 crore of resources for annual plan.
Exuding confidence that he would rebuild AP from the scratch and make it prosperous in the country soon, Naidu said against all the odds he was committed to implementing all his poll-eve promises, including the crop loan waiver for which the Reserve Bank of India had given its nod.
“The RBI governor spoke to me over phone on Tuesday and promised me that he would prevail upon bankers to accept our request of rescheduling of crop loans. The government will make a formal announcement to this effect in a couple of days,” he said. As part of his efforts to release a series of white papers on six crucial subjects in the government, Naidu on Wednesday came out with a white paper on the truncated AP’s financial situation.
Speaking to reporters on this occasion at Lake View guesthouse here, Naidu alleged that the previous Congress government had ruined every sector in united AP. “Though the government had spent Rs 94,000 crore under Jayalayagnam, the new ayacut area in the State has not improved. Not a single irrigation project has been completed so far,” Naidu added.
He went on to say, “United AP had the highest economic growth rate of 8.16% in 2000-01 because of then TDP government’s policies. However, the tide turned for the worse in 2009-09 because of the Congress government’s short-sighted policies. Misgovernance, corruption and lack of vision stalled the growth momentum in the State,” he said.
Polavaram under AIBP
Naidu said Polavaram irrigation project would be taken up under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) by the Centre. He said the Centre would reimburse all the expenditure that has been incurred on the project from this year.
Mobilising Resources
Naidu made it clear that the government will have to implement reforms in the economic sector to put the State financial situation on track. “Our govt will leave no stone unturned in exploring the possibilities of mobilising resources,” he said.
Uninterrupted power from Oct 2
Naidu announced that his government would provide 24-hour power to domestic sector from Oct 2 next. The State is buying 300 MW power from NTPC, West Bengal.
The impact of division on AP finances
Indicator Undivided AP AP Telangana
Population(In crore) 8.46 5.06 3.62
GSDP (Rs Cr) 8,54,822 4,75,859 3,78,963
Per Capita Income(Rs) 88,876 85,797 93,151
Tax Revenue(Rs Cr) 68,993 32,164 36,829
Non-tax Revenue (Rs Cr) 16,461 8,635 7,825
Total Debt (Rs Cr) 1,61,014 92,461 68,553
Chandrababu Naidu’s claims
Between 2004-05 and 2013-14, except services sector, the remaining ectors of the economy have not performed consistently.
Power expenditure went up without any improvement in supplying quality power.
Fiscal stress became the order of the day as a result of expenditure commitments rising faster than revenue receipts.
Residuary AP is left with only Rs 5,791 crore of resources for annual plan.