Infrastructural roadblocks delaying Jagan's move to Vizag; CM postpones move to Sept

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has postponed his decision to move to Visakhapatnam from March to September. Earlier in March, Jagan had announced that he would move to Vizag for Ugadi and the Andhra Pradesh administration would start functioning from Visakhapatnam in July this year.

However, during a meeting in Srikakulam on Wednesday, Jagan announced that he would move to Vizag with his family in September.

The Chief Minister has been pitching Visakhapatnam as the Executive Capital of the state, and on 31 January, Jagan announced that Visakhapatnam will be the new capital of Andhra Pradesh and he will also move to the city. Even during the recent Global Investors Summit 2023, Jagan said Visakhapatnam, which will be the Executive Capital, will help in the Ease of Doing Business. He invited the delegates to visit Vizag and see the investment opportunities.

Sources said the infrastructure for running the administration is yet to be completed. “Due to delay in the completion of the Chief Minister’s office and his residence, there has been a delay in shifting. The CM has ordered speedy construction and it is expected to be complete by September,” said an official from the CM’s office.

While rumour has it that the delay is due to the court hearing on the Three Capitals issue in the Supreme Court, an official source said the delay has nothing to do with the case hearing.

CM’s office likely in Rushikonda beach area

A resort run by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) was demolished in February 2022. Now the state government has planned to construct a five-storey hotel-cum-resort at Rs. 190 crores.

There were many allegations raised by environmentalist that the construction is violating environmental norms or permissions given. The environmentalists said the officials have been extensively excavating the land and spoiling the beauty of the Rushikonda beach.

According to sources, while new buildings are being constructed on Rushikonda hill, some of the buildings will be allocated for the state government offices, including the CM’s office.

Four blocks—Vengi, Kalinga, Gajapathi, and Vijayanagara—are being constructed in Rushikonda. One of the block is said to be given to the CM’s office.

Committee says no violations

In February, photos of green mats over Rushikonda went viral on social media. There were rumours that the officials covered the excavation site with a geomat technology in the Rushikonda area ahead of the Global Investors Summit and G20 Summit in March.

Later, in December 2022, a Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court led by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra directed the MoEFCC to set up a five-member expert committee to look into the alleged violations of environmental protection laws in the construction work being carried out atop Rushikonda.

A few weeks ago, a high-level joint committee inspected the construction of a resort in Rushikonda. The committee observed that APTDC is executing construction in an area of 1.84 acres taking up only four blocks with the built-up area as 15,363 sqm while the CRZ clearance and other approvals were given for the built-up area of 19,968 sqm in an extent of 5.18 acres.

Though the built-up area increased from 5,753.47 sqm to 7,266.32 sqm in Kalinga block 2, other blocks—Chola and Pallava—were dropped and the built-up area of the Kalinga block has increased.

The joint committee, through a team of experts, carried out (real-time kinematic) survey to ascertain the exact area under usage for construction, forming hill cut slopes, and dumping of construction materials.

The committee report established that APTDC had obtained all necessary clearances from MoEF, AP Pollution Control Board and GVMC for Rushikonda resort construction. However, modifications in land use patterns, number of blocks along with built-up area of each block and constructing the same without prior approval of MoEF were observed.