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Andhra govt forms panel to look into abandoned buildings in Amaravati
The construction of twin towers for the Secretariat and other administrative complexes and the new high court complex also came to a halt, after Jagan came to power.
The Andhra Pradesh government has formed a nine-member high-level committee to look into the fate of existing building infrastructure in Amaravati, the present state capital, in the wake of its decision to shift the executive capital to Visakhapatnam.
The committee, headed by chief secretary Adityanath Das and comprising eight other senior officials representing various departments had its first meeting in the secretariat on Friday to discuss measures on what to do with various buildings and housing units that had been constructed in Amaravati during the previous Telugu Desam Party government as part of capital infrastructure.
Hundreds of multi-storeyed residential quarters for All India Services officers, legislators, state government employees and Secretariat staff, besides villas and other residential bungalows for high court judges were constructed during the Naidu regime and many of them were almost nearing completion, when the construction was halted by the Jagan government soon after its formation in May 2019.
The construction of twin towers for the Secretariat and other administrative complexes and the new high court complex also came to a halt, after Jagan came to power.
Now that the Jagan government has decided to restrict Amaravati only as a legislative capital and shift the judicial capital to Kurnool and executive capital to Visakhapatnam, most of these buildings constructed at a high cost are likely to be abandoned.
The high-level official committee has been entrusted with the task of examining the buildings and housing units in Amaravati which are essentially required for the legislative capital, which now falls under the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA), which replaced the earlier AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).
With regard to other unfinished apartment units and bungalows, the committee has been asked to study as to what could be done with them – whether to fully execute the buildings or to explore means for reducing the burden on the exchequer.
State principal secretary, municipal administration Y Srilakshmi, one of the members of the committee, said it would require another ₹2,112 crore to complete the unfinished building infrastructure, apart from ₹302 crore due to be paid to the contractors for the completed work.
Besides, the government would have to complete the other infrastructure facilities like power, water supply, electricity and drainage works in the AMRDA area.
The chief secretary suggested that priority be given to complete the buildings and residential quarters which had been completed up to 75 per cent. He asked the officials to talk to bankers and contractors about the matter.
An official familiar with the development said the government might complete only those buildings and quarters required for the legislative capital and put up the remaining unfinished buildings for sale through “Mission Build AP,” a special purpose vehicle created by the state government to sell unused government properties to raise funds.
“The government hopes to generate huge money through auctioning of these building units in Amaravati through Mission Build AP. The funds can be used for funding the welfare schemes of the government,” the official added.
