Chandrababu Naidu meets Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of Union Budget

New Delhi [India], July 5 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday met with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the national capital where they possibly discussed various aspects of the southern state's developments.
The meeting comes ahead of the much-awaited full budget of the central government for 2024-25. The budget is likely to be tabled later this month.
Three Union ministers from Naidu's Telugu Desam Party who were inducted into the PM Modi-led Cabinet -- Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, were also present during the Andhra CM's meeting with Sitharaman.
Naidu who is on a visit to Delhi had earlier called on Prime Miniseter Narendra Modi and seven Cabinet ministers -- Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal, and Hardeep Singh Puri. He brought multiple issues related to respective ministries to the notice of the Union ministers he met.
Naidu also deliberated upon mechanisms to effectively coordinate for timely intervention and action by the Central government.
The Andhra Chief Minister, during his meeting with PM Modi, highlighted that Andhra Pradesh continues to grapple with the repercussions of what he said is the unscientific, unfair, and unjust bifurcation of 2014.
"I am confident that under his leadership, our State will re-emerge as a powerhouse among states," Naidu wrote on his X timeline after meeting PM Modi.
Additionally, the "miserable governance" of the previous administration marked by "malice, corruption and mis-governance" has dealt a blow to the state than bifurcation itself, he said, as per a press note.
He apprised the prime minister that the fiscal situation in Andhra Pradesh has significantly deteriorated.
Committed expenses, including salaries, pensions, and debt servicing, exceed the State's revenue receipts, leaving no fiscal space for productive capital investment, he added.
He sought financial handholding from the central government, including for state finances in short term, commissioning of the marquee Polavaram National Irrigation Project, support for completion of the Government complex and trunk infrastructure of the capital city of Amaravati, support to the backward regions of Andhra Pradesh on lines of Bundelkhand package, and support for development of Duggirajupatnam port.
During his meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Naidu requested him to release Rs385 Cr as land cost, for establishing Greyhounds Training Centre; and Rs.27.54 Crores towards operational cost; division of assets under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014.
He requested Shah to review Andhra Pradesh IPS cadre review, which he asserted has been pending since 2015. A cadre review is likely to enhance the present strength from 79 to 117. It was requested that the Andhra Pradesh police IPS cadre review may be scheduled at an early date.
During the meeting with Nitin Gadkari, he requested for 6/8-lining of the existing highway from Hyderabad to Vijaywada; development of a greenfield express highway from Hyderabad to Amaravati; Vijayawada Eastern Bypass which will also decongest traffic within the city of Vijayawada; and 4-lane greenfield coastal highway from Mulapeta (Bhavanapadu) to Visakhapatnam.
During a meeting with Piyush Goyal, financial assistance in the form of a grant to provide essential external infrastructure - such as industrial water, power, railway, and road connectivity - to identify 4 industrial nodes (3 in VCIC corridor and 1 in CBIC corridor) within the state was sought.
The Andhra CM sought from Shivraj Singh Chouhan an integrated aquapark, sought to devise a policy for increasing the subsidy to horticulture farmers.
He asked Hardeep Singh Puri to request BPCL to set up a refinery in the state.
"An announcement towards establishment of a refinery in the State of Andhra Pradesh by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the Full Budget Address of Hon'ble Finance Minister will augur well for increasing the refinery capacity of the Country in its journey towards the Country's ambitious vision to transform into a developed entity by the centenary of its independence in 2047," another press note said.
In addition, the CM also had a fruitful meeting with Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission.