Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 14 (ANI): YSR Congress Party Guntur district president and former minister Ambati Rambabu on Friday said that Amaravati was being projected as a magnificent capital while, in reality, it had become a "mega loot project" built on inflated estimates, massive borrowings, and contractor-driven expenditure.
Addressing the media at his camp office in Guntur, he said he was not indulging in political mudslinging and challenged the coalition government to answer the figures he placed before the public.
Rambabu said the Seed Access Road itself exposes the scale of expenditure, with Rs.1,519 crore being spent on just 21.77 km. Phase-I, covering 14.21 km, was sanctioned in 2017 for Rs.285 crore, of which Rs.185 crore had already been spent by 2019, leaving roughly Rs.100 crore worth of work. "Yet, under the revival plan, the balance work was increased to Rs.365 crore and, after GST and other charges, awarded for around Rs.465 crore. He demanded an explanation for turning Rs.100 crore of pending work into a Rs.465 crore package."
He said NHAI road construction generally costs around Rs 23-24 crore per km, while Amaravati packages are many times higher. A 3.5-km Seed Access Road package costs Rs 532 crore, while the Seed Access Road flyover works out to nearly Rs.180 crore per km. By comparison, he said the 4.8-km Benz Circle flyovers cost around Rs180 crore, while the Kanaka Durga flyover cost about Rs.108 crore per km. He also questioned spending nearly Rs 80 crore on a temporary steel bridge that had earlier sagged due to poor quality.
Ambati said farmers who surrendered nearly 33,000 acres were still waiting for fully developed returnable plots, while contractors were receiving projects worth thousands of crores. He questioned why permanent government buildings were costing Rs.18,413 per sq.ft for the Secretariat and Rs 20,000- 22,000 per sq.ft for the five towers, including around Rs.2,455 crore on glass and facade works.
"Are Amaravati roads being laid with tar and gravel, or platinum and gold?" he asked.
He said the government had already mobilised around Rs.57,000 crore and was preparing to spend another Rs.2 lakh crore, while pro-TDP media continued to portray Amaravati as a wonder city without exposing the expenditure. He also questioned Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan's absence from the Seed Access Road inauguration and asked whether corruption concerns kept him away.
Ambati challenged the government to grant YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Leader of the Opposition status and debate these issues in the Assembly.
He concluded that after Chandrababu's seven years in power, Amaravati still remained a landscape of temporary buildings, temporary bridges, and incomplete works, "a dream capital for Chandrababu's family and contractors, not a fiscally responsible capital for the people." (ANI)
"Amaravati becoming mega loot project": YSRCP's Ambati Rambabu
