Tadepalli, July 9: Former Minister Sake Sailajanath said the massive escalation in Amaravati construction costs stands as undeniable proof of corruption under the coalition government. Addressing the media at the YSRCP Central Office, he said Minister P. Narayana was attempting to justify inflated expenditure instead of answering why the cost of the same projects had nearly doubled without any change in contractors. He asserted that YSRCP is not opposed to Amaravati but opposes the reckless waste of public money, and reiterated that Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s proposed MAVIGAN model alone can deliver balanced and sustainable capital development.
Sailajanath questioned how government buildings covering 52.20 lakh square feet were now being constructed at nearly Rs. 20,427 per square foot, when the same works had been awarded in 2017-18 for Rs. 2,271.14 crore to NCC, Shapoorji Pallonji and L&T. The very same companies have now resumed the projects, yet the construction cost has increased to Rs. 4,354.43 crore, an escalation of over Rs. 2,033 crore. He said no building in Mumbai or Bengaluru is being constructed at such extraordinary rates and challenged the government to explain why Amaravati alone commands such inflated costs.
He further stated that while the Central Government is constructing more than 54.45 lakh square feet of office and residential buildings at an average cost of around Rs. 4,645 per square foot, the Andhra Pradesh Government is spending nearly Rs. 20,000 per square foot. He questioned the justification for additional expenditure running into thousands of crores on glass façades, electrical systems, plumbing, roads and other components, despite the project already receiving concessions such as free sand and tax exemptions.
Sailajanath said the government had already borrowed nearly ₹60,000 crore in the name of Amaravati and was preparing to spend almost ₹2 lakh crore more through large-scale land acquisition and infrastructure works. He argued that the same resources could complete all pending irrigation projects in Rayalaseema and North Andhra while ensuring equitable regional development. Urging the government to abandon forced centralized development, he said MAVIGAN, stretching from Machilipatnam to Guntur, offers the infrastructure, connectivity, population and economic base required for a true growth-engine capital. He called upon the government to stop defending inflated contracts, place the facts before the people, and pursue a decentralized capital model that benefits the entire state rather than contractors.
*Government running away from DSC debate: Botcha*
