Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu made a fervent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to handhold Andhra Pradesh till it was on a par with the neighbouring States.
Turning to Mr. Modi during his speech at the foundation ceremony of Amaravati on Thursday, he said Andhra Pradesh gained benefits from the Central government during the last 16 months. Post-bifurcation, the State was saddled with many problems, he said, recalling that a special package was promised on the floor of Parliament.
Acknowledging the help extended by the Centre so far, he pointed out Andhra Pradesh did not have an income-generating capital city like Hyderabad of Telangana, Bengaluru of Karnataka and Chennai of Tamil Nadu.
Listing some steps taken by the Centre, he said seven mandals which faced submergence from the Polavaram project were merged with Andhra Pradesh and 11 national-level academic institutions were given to the State. Admissions had already started in some of them. He also mentioned that Rs. 100 crore each was granted for seven backward districts, besides Rs. 2,300 crore released last year to overcome the financial deficit.
Mr. Naidu said the Centre also gave Rs. 1,850-crore assistance towards the new capital.
