It’s Centre’s duty to help AP: Naidu

New Delhi: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has minced no words in reminding the Centre of its duty and responsibility to help Andhra Pradesh in all possible ways to make it overcome its bifurcation blues. In his meetings on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Union Minister for Roads Nitin Gadkari, Naidu made an impassionate plea to the central leadership to come to the aid of Andhra Pradesh.

"My sincere thanks to you for the financial and institutional support... but we are in dire need of resources to bridge the revenue deficit. You are aware that no State in our country is more dependent on the generosity of the Central Government for its financial health than Andhra Pradesh.

We are experiencing serious financial stress and unless Government of India comes to our rescue, it would be difficult to tide over the crisis," he said. Thus setting the tone and tenor of his argument, Naidu highlighted every area of governance that required Central aid "due to bifurcation problems" and sought funds and projects on the lines of Bundelkhan, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Gorakhpur.

“It was alright that the NITI Aayog was submitting its report on the special package to the State as directed by the Prime Minister, but the State needed budgetary support from the very beginning,” he said. From grant to bridge the resource gap due to revenue deficit, to assistance to Rayalaseema and north coastal districts to assistance to Amaravati development and incentives for industrial development, the Chief Minister did not forget to mention each and every need of the State.

Irrigation projects like Polavaram and the envisaged development of the blue economy along with coastal area to rail and road connectivity, he was looking far into the future needs when he raised his proposals systematically and pin-pointedly. Reminding Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu of the vital rail connectivity issues, he said Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, Tada, Kadapa, Guntur, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and Bengaluru required special attention as far as new lines are concerned.

Similarly, dedicated freight corridor was essential between Visakhapatnam and Chennai, he said seeking in addition to a Railway University. He took up the issues of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme pertaining to the State maintenance of multi-village schemes. Core network roads falling under the Rural Development Ministry and the Ministry of Roads and Surface Transport were also taken up by him.