YSR Congress party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has not changed his stand on the state capital city.
He continues to oppose the construction of capital in the present location in Amaravati.
On Thursday, Jagan reiterated his firm opposition to Amaravati capital city construction, describing it as an “insane move,” as the region is unfit to build the capital because it is in the Krishna river basin.
“If one were to be building a capital in this area, then best thing is not to build the capital in Amaravati as it is a virgin land without electricity, roads, and infrastructure,” he said.
Jagan argued that there was no such thing as capital in the Constitution of India. “Wherever the chief minister sits and Constitutional institutions operate, it becomes the capital,” he said.
His statement comes at a time when the Centre is getting ready to introduce a Constitutional amendment bill in Parliament to provide statutory status for Amaravati as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Alleging that Amaravati is being constructed in a river basin area, Jagan said building structures in a river basin would not be acceptable under any circumstances, as it would invite serious environmental and legal complications.
“The Supreme Court should also take note of the issue,” he said.
He reiterated that it would have been better to develop the capital between Vijayawada and Guntur, instead of in the river basin area.
Jagan alleged that the Amaravati project was financially unviable and driven by vested interests.
He said the TDP government had initially proposed acquiring 50,000 acres of land and as per its own detailed project report (DPR), it required an expenditure of Rs 1 lakh crore, at the rate of Rs 2 crore per acre for infrastructure such as roads, power supply, water and sewerage.
He further alleged that the land was selected after Naidu and his “benamis” acquired property in the region.
Questioning the feasibility of the project, Jagan said the first phase of Amaravati remained undeveloped, with farmers left distressed and no visible progress due to a lack of funds.
The former chief minister strongly resisted the acquisition of additional land for the second phase of Amaravati.
“The Naidu government is now proposing to acquire another 50,000 acres, taking the total land requirement to one lakh acres and pushing the estimated cost to Rs 2 lakh crore. This is nothing but insane,” he said.
