VIJAYAWADA: Speakers at a round table on ‘’Capital Construction-Foreign Companies-Swiss Challenge method’’ organised by the Capital Development Front here on Saturday demanded that chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu should bring transparency by conducting open auction system instead of opting for Swiss challenge method.
Addressing the gathering, former minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao came down heavily on the chief minister for going ahead with the Swiss Challenge method for capital construction despite the Supreme Court and experts committee warning against adopting the method, pointing out that it had many loopholes. He wondered why Chandrababu Naidu was developing corporate capital instead of people’s capital which was promised earlier. The construction of capital should be done under supervision of the government, he demanded.
The former minister alleged that the chief minister was hiding facts and till date did not reveal the terms and conditions of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the Singapore companies over the capital construction. He questioned the basis on which the government is handing over 1,691 acre fertile land to the Singapore companies in the seed capital at a meagre price. Sobhanadreeswara Rao also dared the State Government to convene a round table meeting with the farmers and agricultural leaders and reveal the facts.
APCC vice president and former minister Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru) also criticised the chief minister for promoting the Swiss Challenge method. “It is not appropriate to treat the capital construction as a real estate venture,” Nehru said. He demanded that the Center should intervene and stop the AP government going ahead with the controversial method. He said that the Congress party would continue agitate over the issue till the government drops Swiss Challenge method.
CPM State secretary P Madhu alleged that the chief minister has adopted the Swiss Challenge method to benefit the Singapore companies, not the common people of the capital region. He said despite an experts committee set up by the Central Government rejected the method and the Supreme Court showed displeasure, the chief minister was insisting on it to benefit the Singapore companies and members of his coterie.