Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan compete with each other whenever they get an opportunity to shower praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, both have remained silent on securing the assurances promised under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. While repeatedly stating that the state is burdened with debt, they have been unable to secure even the legally mandated commitments from the Centre. More importantly, neither Chandrababu Naidu nor Pawan Kalyan has even raised the issue with the Union government. Unable to secure this commitment under the Reorganisation Act, the state government is instead claiming credit for bringing in a private steel project by offering massive incentives to the company. Officials said that for the steel project, which will be implemented with an investment of ₹16,500 crore, the government will provide a fixed capital subsidy covering as much as 50 percent of the investment. This is not the only incentive, as the government is extending several other concessions to the project as well.
It is well known that the Modi government at the Centre has kept several key assurances under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act pending. The most significant promise, Special Category Status, was effectively abandoned and replaced with a Special Package. Pawan Kalyan had earlier criticised the package as a "stale laddu," but after coming to power, he appears to have completely forgotten the issue. The 13th Schedule of the Reorganisation Act also promised the establishment of an integrated steel plant in Kadapa, located in the backward Rayalaseema region. However, the Modi government later concluded that a steel plant in Kadapa was not economically viable and shelved the promise as well. Ironically, Chandrababu Naidu, who has served twice as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after the state's bifurcation, has never strongly pressed the Centre over the Kadapa Steel Plant. Even now, despite being an ally in the Union government, there have been no serious efforts to secure the project.
Compared to the past, it is being said that while the Modi government has been generous in providing loans for the Amaravati capital project this time, it has not extended significant support in other areas. The Kadapa Steel Plant has witnessed multiple foundation stone ceremonies since the days of the united Andhra Pradesh, but the project itself has never taken off. On June 10, 2007, then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Brahmani Industries steel plant promoted by Gali Janardhan Reddy. For this project, iron ore mining leases worth thousands of crores of rupees in Anantapur were allocated to Gali Janardhan Reddy's Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC). While Gali Janardhan Reddy profited by selling the iron ore, the steel plant never materialised. Nearly two decades have passed since the first foundation stone was laid, yet the project has still not moved beyond the foundation-laying stage. Not only the current Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, but even Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was in power for five years, had promised to complete the steel plant within three years.
However, apart from making the announcement, the project never took off. Now, nearly 20 years after the first foundation stone ceremony, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is set to lay the foundation stone once again on July 3. The project will be implemented by private company JSW Steel. Whether the project will finally become a reality this time remains to be seen. The political leadership has not only failed to secure the commitments that should have been obtained from the Centre, but the burden of thousands of crores of rupees being extended as incentives to private companies is now falling on the people of the state. Even then, neither Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu nor Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan utters a word of criticism against Prime Minister Modi.