CM Chandrababu pushes ‘Southern Powerhouse’ vision at zonal council

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu used the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting to pitch a broader political and economic vision for the South, calling for greater cooperation among southern states and stronger Centre-state coordination to make the region a decisive force in building a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Addressing the meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, CM Naidu argued that the southern states, which together contribute around 31% of India’s GDP, have the potential to become a $10-trillion economy by 2047.

He said development could no longer be pursued in isolation and called for common infrastructure, logistics, skills, energy and disaster-management mechanisms across the region. One of his most ambitious proposals was a bullet-train corridor linking Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu through Kuppam, creating a high-speed transport axis connecting Amaravati, Bengaluru and Chennai. He also proposed a common southern logistics network with dry ports and stronger integration of the southern power grid with the national grid.

CM Naidu sought a joint consortium of universities and skilling institutions across southern states and proposed a mutual aid force for disaster response, arguing that states should be able to mobilize resources collectively during natural calamities. For Andhra Pradesh, however, the meeting became an important platform to press the Centre on unresolved bifurcation issues. The CM pointed out that 12 years after bifurcation, the division of institutions under Schedules IX and X remains incomplete, while issues relating to assets, liabilities, resource deficits and provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act continue to await resolution.

He thanked the Centre for support to Polavaram, Amaravati and the South Coast Railway Zone, while seeking faster approvals for Dugarajapatnam Port, the BPCL refinery, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada Metro projects and the Kadapa-JSW railway link. The CM proposed transferring more than 500 TMC of surplus Godavari floodwater towards the Cauvery basin, describing the Godavari-Cauvery link as a potential long-term solution to water shortages in Tamil Nadu and other southern states. He also called for a national, time-bound plan for Ganga-Cauvery river linking, including preparation of DPRs and statutory approvals. Naidu sought to position Andhra Pradesh not merely as a beneficiary of central assistance, but as a strategic partner in shaping the South’s economic future.