Swinging between hope and despair

Andhra Pradesh is poised to ring in the New Year by bidding an adieu to the year 2016. For a state like AP, which is still struggling hard to heal its wounds inflicted by the bifurcation, it is not just like a calendar event.

It remains without a capital of its own since the bifurcation in 2014. Mounting revenue deficit, the Centre’s unkept promises over granting of special category status (SCS),

bridging the resource gap and funding for the capital and Polavaram and poor financial condition continued to haunt the truncated state throughout the year. The situation is likely to remain unchanged by and large in the upcoming New Year too.

The tale of double digit growth, the secretariat becoming a functional in a fits and starts manner and earning the rare distinction of being at the top in “Ease of Doing Business” however offer the much-needed silver lining.

The growth curve registered a downward trend with 12.23 per cent as against the annual target of 15.28 per cent as the demonitisation comes as a double whammy. Revenue flow from industry and service sectors took a nosedive drastically, threatening to impact the double digit growth story.

The Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s dream of “Sunrise AP” continued to be eclipsed due to the failure of the MOUs his government has made with investors at a partnership summit in Visakhapatnam in January, 2016 becoming a reality.

The soaring land cost and increasing corruption and red tape in official corridors in granting of licenses seem upsetting the Naidu’s apple cart.

According to official figures, the partnership summit 2016-17 helped government secure promises from investors worth Rs 4.63 lakh crore.

But, to quote G Sambhasiva Rao, a spokesman of the Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, not even fifty of per cent of the MoUs were translated into a reality during the year.

Regardless of the outcome, Naidu is set to hold a fresh round of partnership summit in January, 2017 with an ambitious plan to mobilise investments worth Rs 7 lakh crore.

The fate of the TDP government hinges over its twin flagship projects—capital construction in Amaravati and the Polavaram project—in the 2019 general elections. Left with hardly 1900cr doled out by the NDA government, Naidu is literally groping in the dark for finances to build a ‘world class capital’, which is estimated to cost at least Rs 1 lakh crore.

Even as the Centre has limited its promise for funding only for constructing the `core capital’ consisting of Assembly, secretariat, Raj Bhavan, etc to let the government run its administration, the CM is left to fend for himself.

The government spent one full year on finalisation of designs and knocking the doors of investors from within and outside for aid to build the capital.

But, there appears no breakthrough on these two counts yet. The Polavaram dam is an election promise, which is to be realised by the end of 2018.

However, the NDA government arranged an aid of Rs 18,000 cr from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and ensured delivered of Rs 1,980-odd cr as part of reimbursing the expenses incurred by the State government on the project.

The critics and ardent supporters of the TDP as well admit to the fact that these two mega projects are unlikely to see light of the day before 2017.

Unfazed by the roadblocks, Naidu is determined to take the stride in his favour. He heavily banks on knowledge economy by trying to ensure that the whole state is wired with fiber network by March, 2017. The project aims to let every household be connected with TV, phone and internet for Just Rs 149 a month.

According to Parakala Prabhakar, media advisor to Government of Andhra Pradesh, the project intends to unleash digital economy and spur growth in online trading, service sector, industry and agriculture.

Prabhakar, who graduated in Economics from London School of Economics, sees buoyancy in the state economy in the New Year.

“After all the government is determined to spend Rs 36,000cr on the Polavaram project during the year which will ensure a turnaround in cement, food, steel and transportation sectors which let the state’s double digit growth story go without any hassles”, he said.

On the political front, Chandrababu with his maneuvering skills managed to ensure that the opposition is not in a position to challenge his authority.

Depending on the anti-establishment wave, YSRC chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy failed to cobble up the anti-Naidu forces and put up a united fight. Although the TDP-BJP alliance seems developing cracks, Chandrababu has succeeded to ensure that the gulf would not widen.

Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan started making noises now and then through the twitter and public rallies after spending in hibernation for half of the election mandate period. It is yet to be seen whom he is targeting- the TDP or the BJP.

By:Nagaraja Gali