Rushikonda Palace: The doors of former Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's luxurious palace (Rushikonda Hill Palace) in Visakhapatnam have been opened to the public on Sunday. During Jagan Mohan Reddy's rule, 7 luxury residential and office buildings were constructed at a total cost of Rs 452 crore. The Chandrababu Naidu government alleged that the luxurious palace built on the Rushikonda hills was constructed by violating all environmental norms and regulations. Because, the Jagan government did not have permission to shift the capital from Amaravati. So he built this grand building in the name of the tourism department.
TDP MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao on Sunday led the NDA delegation and media on the first visit to the palatial palace on Rushikonda Hills. People were stunned to see the beauty and luxury inside.
Rushikonda Palace is spread over 9.88 acres
Rushikonda Palace is spread over 9.88 acres facing the sea. Out of the 7 luxury buildings built during Jagan Mohan's tenure, 3 are exclusively residential buildings. It has 12 bedrooms. Each bedroom has an attached luxury toilet. It used public money on all kinds of luxurious amenities, high-quality furnishings, décor, glittering chandeliers, bathtubs and floor work.
A bathroom built in 430 sqft
A bathroom is built in a maximum of 430 square feet. The biggest expense was incurred on the bathtub. About Rs 33 crore was spent on decoration and furniture for the interior decoration of the building. At the same time, Rs 50 crore was spent on the development of roads, canals and parks. The exterior of the building has also been beautifully decorated. 2 to 3 types of walkways were made in the park.
Approved as CRZ in May 2021
According to the report, the central government approved the CRZ or Coastal Regulatory Zone in May 2021 for the tourism project to be developed by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation on Rushikonda Hills. According to TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy specifically decided to use it as his camp office. He claimed that Rs 500 crore from the government treasury has been used in the construction of the building.
Reddy inaugurated before the elections
Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated this building without any permission just before the assembly elections. He had planned to move to the House after the elections, but the political scenario of Andhra Pradesh changed after his defeat in the assembly elections.
TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh compared Jagan Mohan Reddy's palatial palace to the palaces built by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and Janardhan Reddy. He argued that the palace also has a conference room specially designed for review meetings, which is not really considered necessary for tourist properties.
Much secrecy was maintained during the construction
The TDP leader also alleged that a lot of secrecy was maintained in the construction of the palace. Jagan Mohan Reddy told his own party YSRCP supporters that the palace was built in a secrecy manner.
The contract was awarded. Nara Lokesh said that green tourist resorts in Rushikonda Hills were demolished to build the palace. These resorts used to generate annual income of up to Rs 8 crore. The TDP leader accused the Reddy government of misleading the courts.
Rs. 95 crores spent to level the land
Nara Lokesh alleged that the Reddy government showed him a one-star hotel, then a CM camp office and later a tourism project. The project was launched as a one-star hotel with a budget of Rs 91 crore with a deadline of 15 months. But Rs 95 crore was spent only on levelling the land and Rs 21 crore on beautifying the surrounding area. Not only this, 20 feet high barricading was done all around to ensure that the secret construction was not visible from a distance.