VIJAYAWADA: Taking exception to Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu’s criticism that State finance has been pushed into a crisis by the present government, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath has said that the YSRC government is restoring normalcy after inheriting thousands of crores worth unpaid loans and uncleared bills. Countering claims of the Opposition, he said industrial development in the State was picking up pace as evident from the statistics provided by the Department of Industries’ Industrial Entrepreneurial Memoranda.

Speaking to mediapersons on Thursday, the minister said as per the data provided by the Department of Industrial Promotion, when compared to 2014-15, investments in 2019-20 were much better.  
“In 2014-15, investment proposals stood at Rs 21,510 crore and real investment was Rs 2,800 crore. It was Rs 19,800 crore and Rs 9,500 crore and in 2019-20. When the YSRC formed government, the investment proposals were Rs 15,953 crore and actual investment was Rs 32,104 crore,”  he noted.  Bugganna said the government was maintaining a low profile and not going for unnecessary publicity like the previous regime. He said since June, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has allocated 1,057 acres of land to 1,252 companies for setting up industrial units.

“Talks with Birla’s Grasam industry, which proposed to invest Rs 2,240 crore, Smart Techchem Technologies which is planning to invest Rs 1,126 crore for its Tri Amoaniuam Nitrate unit in Kakinada SEZ and ATC Tyres, which came forward to invest Rs 1,126 crore, are at advanced stage. Negotiations are also on with Hyundai Steel and POSCO Steel for setting up a steel plant in Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

Eight industrial units with a total investment of Rs 7,916 crore are going for a trial run, while eight units with a total investment of Rs 8,663 crore are under construction, he added.Lashing out at Naidu for his criticism of State finances, he said the present crisis was all due to the previous government’s faults. “Without any grants in the budget, without any finance tie-ups and DPRs, tenders were called for Rs 38,000 crore worth works and if CRDA works are added, it would be more than Rs 1 lakh crore. How can any responsible government do such things?” he sought to know.

The minister said even in the case of industrial incentives, the TDP government has not cleared several crores worth pending dues. On the commercial tax earnings, he said it was Rs 15,214 crore till December 15, 2019, from April, which is more than Rs 14,255 crore during the corresponding period last fiscal. Revenue collections also improved by two per cent for the same period, he added.

Revenue collection
Rs 15,214 crore  commercial tax earnings from April to December, against Rs 14,255 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal
2% increase in revenue collections in the same period  
1,057 acres of land allocated to 1,252 companies since June