CM Chandrababu Naidu meets Amit Shah in Delhi, apprises him of Andhra’s financial crisis

New Delhi [India], July 17 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday and apprised him of the state’s financial condition.

The meeting took place at the residence of Amit Shah.

In a post on X after the meeting, CM Naidu said, “Today in New Delhi, I met with the Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Shri @AmitShahJi, to apprise him of the devastating condition of finances that Andhra Pradesh had slipped into over the past five years.

CM Naidu added, “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. Economic incompetence, gross mismanagement, and rampant corruption by the previous government have caused irreparable damage to our State.”

“Honouring the mandate given by our people to the NDA, the Central and State governments will devise a comprehensive recovery plan and bring our State’s economy back on track. We shall fulfil people’s aspirations together,” his post added.

Earlier, Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu on Monday accused the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy government of looting natural resources, creating litigation, and exploiting lands and minerals in the state during his tenure.

He also claimed that forests were deforested under their administration. “We have identified records of their corruption,” he added.

Earlier on July 9, the Andhra Pradesh government under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu floated a whitepaper around its power sector, where it discussed its status and raised allegations against its predecessor government under Jagan Mohan Reddy.

As per the whitepaper, there was a phenomenal increase in the power tariff burden among consumers, the debt of state power utilities increased, and there were losses due to inefficient governance.

Total loans of Andhra Pradesh power utilities increased from Rs 62,826 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 112,422 crore in 2023-24, with an increase of Rs 49,596 crore or a 79 percent increase.

Further, the paper also alleged that investors lost confidence and that the brand image of Andhra Pradesh was spoiled.

The average tariff for domestic consumers increased from Rs 3.87 per unit to Rs 5.63 per unit, a rise of 45 percent, during the Reddy government, the whitepaper noted.

It also noted that a delay in the commissioning of thermal power plants resulted in a total additional burden of Rs 12,818 crore.

It particularly mentioned the delay in the commissioning of the Polavaram Hydroelectric Project. A contract was awarded on December 6, 2017, with an expected commissioning date of May 2023.

Later, according to the whitepaper, the contract was terminated and the commissioning date was revised to January 2026.

Due to ongoing arbitration, the whitepaper asserted that it led to an expected loss of up to Rs 1,500 crore. The impact of price variation was Rs 350 crore.