New Delhi:

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said that the World Bank has agreed to extend Rs 15,000 crore loan to the state government for the construction of the capital Amaravati and its work will start from December.

Addressing a press conference here, Chandrababu Naidu, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he met on Monday, said, the Centre has agreed to release Rs 12,500 crore towards the construction works of Polavaram project.

He further said oil and gas major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd will be setting up a refinery with an investment outlay of Rs 85,000 crore in the state and the company is currently conducting a feasibility study into selecting the location.

The chief minister said he appraised the PM of “Swarna Andhra Pradesh 2047” vision document which is under preparation, aiming to make the state a USD 2.5 trillion economy with USD 40,000 per capita income.

“The World Bank has agreed to give Rs 15,000 crore for the construction of Amaravati capital phase-1. The work will start in December. We will work in a time-bound manner,” Chandrababu Naidu said.

Replying to a query, he said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are engaged in talks to resolve pending issues.

He said the upcoming Visakhapatnam International Airport at Bhogapuram will be ready by December next year and the GMR group which is executing the project was asked to set up a “Civil Aviation University” in the vicinity.

“I have explained to the Prime Minister about the financial destruction that took place during the last five years. At the same time, I have informed him that the state is facing financial difficulties,” he said.

The CM alleged that the previous YSRCP government failed to utilise the Central sponsored schemes and the funds given by the union government were diverted for other purposes. They have not given the utilisation certificates for the Central funds, resulting in a stoppage of fund flow, he said.

Chandrababu Naidu said due to laxity of the previous government as much as 85 lakh tons of garbage was piled up across the state, which the present regime started disposing of.

The Andhra CM said the Centre was requested to construct Greenfield Expressway between Vijayawada and Hyderabad and also a 185 km-long Outer Ring road at Amravati.

He said the union government is currently mulling various options for the survival of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Chandrababu Naidu is currently in the national capital and met PM Modi and some of his Cabinet colleagues, including Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad:

An anti-corruption court cited “security” as it rejected a house custody plea for jailed ex-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who will now spend the rest of his two-week remand period in jail, unless he gets relief in the form of bail. On Tuesday Mr Naidu had been sent to judicial custody after he was arrested in connection with an alleged multi-crore scam.

The court in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada rejected arguments from Mr Naidu’s legal team and his wife, who spoke of her “worry for his safety inside jail”. “I did not see any special arrangements made for him,” she told reporters after the court refused to quash Mr Naidu’s remand order.

“I felt I left a part of me inside. They have tied him up in the building he helped construct,” she said.

Mr Naidu’s wife, Bhuvaneswari; his son, Lokesh; and his daughter-in-law, Brahmani; met the former Chief Minister at the jail in Rajahmundry, to which he was taken on Sunday. Bhuvaneswari called on workers from her husband’s Telugu Desam Party to speak out and support him.

READ | Home-Cooked Meals, Special Room For Chandrababu Naidu In Andhra Jail

“Not just TDP cadre… but the people need to stand up for Mr Naidu, who always put the welfare of the people before that of his family. I give you my word that the TDP, established by Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (who is her father), is here to stay,” she declared.

READ | Chandrababu Naidu “Non-Cooperative, Gave Vague Replies”: Andhra Cops To Court

The TDP founder, referred to by his initials – NTR – invoked Telugu pride to establish his party as a force to be reckoned with in a short period of time.

Earlier today, actor-politician Balakrishna – a party lawmaker from Hindupur and NTR’s son, said it was time for the people to “throw out” Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. “No need to be afraid of anyone. I am coming… will show them valour and strength of Telugu people.”

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Police’s Crime Investigation Department has sought five-day custody of Mr Naidu, arguing they need to interrogate him as the alleged is a serious economic offence and as the “prime conspirator”, Chandrababu Naidu, had “full knowledge” of events.

What Is The Skill Development Corporation Scam?

The multi-crore scam deals with money allocated to the Department of Skill Entrepreneurship and Innovation by the state, and incorporated into the 2015-16 budget.

According to the CID, inquiries revealed serious irregularities, specifically, before any expenditure by private entities, the then government provided an advance of Rs 371 crores, representing the entire 10 per cent commitment by the government.

READ | The Rs 371-Crore Scam That Led To Chandrababu Naidu’s Arrest: Explained

Most of the money advanced was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of items mentioned in invoices, officials said.

CID officials have also said senior government officials, including then chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao, made notings in related files. They had objected to the advance release of funds to Design Tech and noted that this was being done on the instructions of N Chandrababu Naidu.