World Bank drops Rs 2,000-cr loan proposal for Amaravati

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, July 19

Within days of Andhra Pradesh vacating and handing over all office spaces and building in this former capital city to Telangana, the capital project for Andhra Pradesh has hit a stumbling block with the World Bank pulling out of the Andhra Pradesh’s Amaravati Capital Region Development Project.

The World Bank today said it ‘dropped’ the $300-million (around Rs 2,000 crore) loan proposal for the Amaravati development project as the Government of India withdrew the financing request, triggering a blame game between the ruling YSRC and opposition TDP in Andhra Pradesh.

“The Government of India has withdrawn its request to the World Bank for financing the proposed Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project,” a World Bank official said. He added “the World Bank is not in a position to comment on the nature of internal consultations conducted by the Government of India”. Though the World Bank has not given any reasons for pulling out, the resistance of the current government to the project and representations by 21,000 affected families is said to be behind the decision.

Initiated by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the newly elected YSR Congress Party was opposing the project, to have come up on the banks of the Krishna, and had stopped construction after CM Jaganmohan Reddy assumed office on June 30. He had announced that all projects started during Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime, including Amaravati, would be reviewed, as “these are full of scams”.

The Amaravati project, being planned by a Singapore-based company and constructed by several top Indian infrastructure companies, aimed to provide a world-class township, keeping in mind environmental and infrastructure needs. 

News of World Bank backing out of the project came from Naidu, who told the AP Vidhan Sabha that “the ill-conceived, vindictive policies of the new government are driving away investors and even the World Bank has dropped the proposal to lend money to the Amaravati project”. (With PTI inputs)

‘It’s YSRC’s doing’

Was it not the YSRC that instigated farmers to lodge complaints with the World Bank? Is not the YSRC responsible for the World Bank going back (on the loan commitment)— Chandrababu Naidu, TDP chief

‘Naidu responsible’

Chandrababu Naidu govt terrorised farmers, misused the provisions of land pooling and manipulated land records. Farmers complained to the World Bank about this— G Srikanth Reddy, Govt Chief WHIP