Rs 500 cr Rushikonda mansion built for CMO faces uncertain fate after TDP win

Political Shift and Project Fate

• 7 super-structures were constructed on 9.88 acres under Rushikonda development project
• YSRCP govt spent Rs 500 cr on demolishing Haritha Beach Resorts and building the mansion
• Legal challenges prevented the development of the executive capital in Vizag
• Future use of the mansion on Rushikonda beach remains unclear

Visakhapatnam: A question mark hangs over the future of a huge mansion built atop a hillock at the picturesque Rushikonda beach here during the regime of YSR Congress Party to house the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) as part of the decision to have three capitals.

The proposal for trifurcation of capital has been put to an end with the election of the TDP-led NDA in the recently held elections, which promised to develop Amaravati as the futuristic capital of Andhra Pradesh as envisaged during Naidu’s earlier stint as the Chief Minister. Under the Rushikonda development project, seven super-structures were built in an area of 9.88 acres. A three-member IAS officers’ committee set up by the YSRCP Government had earlier recommended the resorts as the best option from a security point of view and strategic location for housing the CMO.

The YSRCP Government, which defended the decision for three capitals to achieve, what it termed, decentralised development, spent an estimated Rs 500 crore on demolishing Haritha Beach Resorts owned by AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and building the mansion. Due to court cases, the executive capital could not be developed in Visakhapatnam. There were cases pending before the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court against the three capital plans.

After the results were out, several supporters of TDP barged into the mansion, which was restricted to visitors, and hoisted their party flag. With the change in guard, there has been hectic speculation in various circles here on the fate of the new structures located near GITAM deemed to be university and Gayatri College.

The Haritha Beach Resorts, which used to give a panoramic view of the Bay of Bengal to visitors from all over the world, was quite popular. Rushikonda beach has been conferred Blue Flag for meeting international standards by Denmark-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The Government of India also selected Rushikonda beach for development under the Beach Environment and Aesthetics Management Services (BEAMS) project.

Speaking on the future of new buildings put up at Rushikonda, noted social activist and former IAS officer EAS Sarma told Bizz Buzz that the previous government wrought environmental havoc at Rushikonda violating environmental laws, all at public cost, for the CMO, though clearance was for a tourism structure, which did not stand the test of judicial scrutiny.

He said, “Ironically, when the earlier TDP government unilaterally decided to set up a grandiose capital at Amaravati, once again at the cost of the environment, some of us had approached the NGT for intervention. The then government and its successor are yet to comply with the NGT directions. Our political leaders seem to ignore what the public want and take decisions that cost the taxpayer and violate the law of the land, without a sense of public accountability.”