AP CM’s relocation plans to Vizag put on hold again?

Visakhapatnam: The widely-circulated shifting of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to the City of Destiny at the beachfront resorts located at Rushikonda from Amaravati has been put on hold, according to strong indications from the government and the ruling YSR Congress Party.

YSRCP regional coordinator YV Subba Reddy, Man Friday of Jagan Mohan Reddy during his visit to Visakhapatnam, said the Chief Minister might shift to Visakhapatnam in November or December only after completion of all the works as there was no hurry at all. This was sequel to speculation in vernacular dailies on where he will stay till completion of interiors at Rushikonda resorts after ‘leakage’ of Cabinet decision that the CM’s camp office will be opened on October 23 or 24 coinciding with Navanmi or Dasami.

The tourism resorts at Rushikonda was rebuilt by the AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) with the allotment of Rs 200 crore by demolishing the old cottages, which had a panoramic view of the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal from a hillock. It is also speculated that nearly Rs 100 crore is being spent on interiors and furnishing though there was no official confirmation to this effect.

Scoffing at reports, Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said they are not in a hurry to shift to Visakhapatnam. “We don’t want to relocate to Visakhapatnam from the backdoor. The Chief Minister will relocate royally after completion of works,” he clarified. The YSRCP leaders earlier held a meeting to accord a grand welcome to the Chief Minister when he shifts to the new accommodation in the city.

A security drill was recently conducted by the police administration in the Rushikonda area. A proposal is pending to open a separate police station in the area after the government upgraded the Commissioner of Police’s post to the rank of Additional DGP. TDP politburo members and former Ministers Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Bandaru Satynarayana Murthy alleged that crores of rupees from the tax-payers’ money was being spent on developing a palatial mansion at the most picturesque location of Andhra Pradesh to provide ‘super luxury’ accommodation to the Chief Minister and his family. They said the people of North Andhra did not want the development of Visakhapatnam as the executive capital.

“As there is no capital for all practical purposes after YSRCP came to power, the government is in a hurry to open the CM’s camp office here due to fast-approaching elections early next year. The reason for the decision to open the camp office is well known to all,” Srinivasa Rao, an MLA from Visakhapatnam, told Bizz Buzz.

Even since an announcement was made in the Assembly about four years ago on trifurcation of capital with Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital and Amaravati as legislative capital under the ground of ensuring all-round development of the State, there has been confusion. The displaced farmers of Amaravati, from whom the erstwhile TDP government had acquired 35,000 acres under Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) to develop ‘futuristic capital,’ and the Opposition parties including TDP, CPI, CPI (M), Jana Sena Party and BJP are strongly opposing the three-capital plan.

In view of a case pending in the Supreme Court against trifurcation of the capital, the government instead of making Visakhapatnam the executive capital, resolved to open CM’s camp office. Though there was no specific announcement, there have been reports in national and regional media that the CM will shift to Visakhapatnam during Dasara festival. This was also followed by a GO issued by Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, who confirmed the establishment of the CM’s camp office. The GO disclosed the setting up of a high-power committee to find out transit accommodation for officials as the Chief Minister needs to visit the ‘backward’ North Andhra Region frequently.