Destructive mindset destroyed capital

Vijayawada : The task ahead is not an easy one thanks to the irresponsible act of the previous government with its vindictive attitude that ruined the Amaravati capital region. It had become a victim of the destructive mindset of the previous government.

With a total project cost of Rs 51,687 crore, Naidu said the TDP government in the past had called tenders for works worth Rs 41,171 crore and bills were paid to the tune of Rs 4,319 crore. But as the YSRCP government halted all works related to the construction of Amaravati there were dues worth Rs 1,269 crore thus far.

He said the first phase of city building development works would cost Rs 48,000 crore and the second phase would focus on constructing metro rail infrastructure. He said Amaravati capital development was aimed at wealth creation and poverty eradication.

He said the NDA government will move ahead with a slogan of Grow Andhra Pradesh and make efforts to bring back all the prestigious institutions to Amaravati. He said originally they wanted to bring top ten educational institutions and top ten industries from across the globe. They will work in that direction and if not top 10 they will look for top 15.

He also accused the previous government of cancelling the World Bank funding to the tune of $300 million and blocked the Central government grant among other alleged tactics to stall the project. Due to the disruption, Amaravati suffered a systematic destruction in the past five years, which led to damaged roads, unfinished buildings, negative credit rating impact on Amaravati bonds and others.

Naidu said all this destructive activity led to cost escalations, demobilisation of men and machinery, loss of tax revenue, material theft and several other issues. He further said had work relating to the Amaravati project gone ahead as planned, up to one lakh people would have been residing in it by now, seven lakh jobs could have been created and Rs 10,000 crore state taxes, including Income-Tax and GST would have been realised by the government and would have helped in wealth generation across the state.