Naidu’s Rs. 1.47 lakh crore debt in 11 months fuels corruption

Tadepalli, April 5: YSRCP leader T.J.R. Sudhakar Babu strongly criticised Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for pushing the state into a massive debt of Rs. 1,47,655 crore within just 11 months, including Rs. 52,000 crore for Amaravati alone—despite claims that the capital would be “self-financed.” He stated that the Amaravati funding was sourced from the World Bank (Rs. 15,000 crore), KfW (Rs. 5,000 crore), HUDCO (Rs. 11,000 crore), and CRDA (Rs. 21,000 crore), blatantly violating FRBM limits. Sudhakar Babu said this debt is fuelling a large-scale corruption racket, with commissions lining the pockets of Naidu and his associates while burdening the public. He pointed out that essential welfare and infrastructure projects like fishing harbours, medical colleges, and Arogyasri have been neglected, while extravagant spending continues. For instance, Rs. 353 crore was spent on temporary High Court (Rs. 173 crore) and Assembly (Rs. 180 crore) buildings, and Rs. 1,650 crore is now planned for permanent ones.
He further highlighted the shocking cost of Rs. 724 crore for constructing an Assembly for just 175 MLAs—nearly matching the Rs. 970 crore cost of the Indian Parliament that houses 1,274 members. The planned AP Secretariat at Rs. 724 crore also surpasses Telangana’s Secretariat built at Rs. 600 crore. Sudhakar Babu stated that Naidu is spreading lies about Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy incurring Rs. 11 lakh crore in debt. He clarified that the state debt rose from Rs. 3,90,247 crore in March 2019 to Rs. 7,21,000 crore by March 2024, during which the Jagan government directly transferred Rs. 2,75,000 crore to beneficiaries through DBT. In contrast, Naidu’s tenure has delivered no tangible benefits to the public, with tenders being tailored for companies like L&T and NCC, and past wasteful projects like Velagapudi’s Rs. 11,000 per sq. ft buildings still haunting the public exchequer. He demanded accountability for this reckless plunder.