HYDERABAD: Finding fault with chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to construct a new building for the Secretariat by pulling down the existing one, the Congress party has decided to take legal recourse to challenge this decision.
Party MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Wednesday said that he would file a petition in the High Court, urging it to direct the chief minister to stall the proposal. “It is most unfortunate that the chief minister has decided to demolish the existing buildings in the Secretariat only to construct new buildings. In the name of Vastu, KCR is imposing `1,200 crore burden on the exchequer,” Reddy said.
“Because of non-allotment of funds, welfare schemes such as Aarogyasri, fee reimbursement and other programmes are not being properly implemented. Same is the case with crop loan waiver scheme. Instead of releasing funds to these programmes, the CM is wasting money on his Vastu fancies. He is trying to fulfil his desires at the expense of public money which is not good,” the former ministersaid.
Venkat Reddy said if the Andhra Pradesh government gives back the blocks being used by it on the Secretariat premises, these blocks along with the existing buildings being used by the Telangana government would be enough to house all the departments in the Secretariat. “Hence, the chief minister’s proposal to construct new buildings doesn’t stand any logic,” he remarked.
Rejecting the claims of KCR that the present Secretariat building has Vastu defects, the Congress MLA mentioned the cases of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy becoming the country’s President and PV Narasimha Rao becoming PM, who had earlier served as CM of the erstwhile united AP.