World Bank, ADB Turn Down AP’s Loan Requests As CRDA Lacks NGT Clearance

Hyderabad: Close on the heels of the stay order from Hyderabad High Court, Andhra Pradesh government received another jolt as World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have turned down the state’s applications for loan as it has not obtained clearance from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The CRDA has sought Rs7,500 crore from each and was in discussions with the World Bank and ADB for some time. The WB team recently visited Amaravati and discussed with CRDA officials. World Bank has agreed to extend loans, but said only hurdle is lack of clearance of NGT.

Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) has sought Rs 15,000 crore loan for capital city construction in Amaravati. However, the World Bank and ADB have informed the State government that loans can only be released after obtaining necessary environment clearances from the National Green Tribunal.

AP Government has 42 percent stake in Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), while majority holding of 58 percent is held by Singapore consortium. CRDA is seeking loans from several funding agencies including World Bank, Asian Development Bank in addition to domestic organizations such as Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO).

The CRDA has sought Rs7,500 crore from each and was in discussions with the World Bank and ADB for some time. The WB team recently visited Amaravati and discussed with CRDA officials. World Bank has agreed to extend loans, but said only hurdle is lack of clearance of NGT.

World Bank and ADB, as sources said, have raised some concerns over the NGT clearance and categorically said unless it’s cleared, loan may not be sanctioned. AP government and the CRDA officials tried their best to convince the officials from the World Bank saying that social impact assessment (SIA) report would not be required for the sanction of the loan. The government officials further said the land acquisition was done under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS). But, the World Bank officials were not convinced with this point of argument and insisted on NGT clearance.

On the same lines, Asian Development Bank has also expressed similar concerns like WB in releasing the loan for Amaravati. ADB clearly stated that produce NGT clearance and get the loan approval.