VISAKHAPATNAM: THE Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) officials are mulling several options to generate more reveue including the sale of the unsold flats and plots developed by it, with the government asking the agency to generate a whopping Rs 2,500 core to Rs 3,000 crore this fiscal to fund various welfare project proposed in its limit. The authorities are now on a massive exercise of identifying the flats and plots built by it under various schemes so that the unutilised resources can be put to use while achieving the target.
In sync with the chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s direction that the land allotted to various stakeholders of welfare projects will be taken back if the latter fail to develop it as per the agreement, recently the VUDa has served notices to some 180 such stakeholders to comply with the norms laid down in theier respective agreements.
Earlier, the YSR government had also given VUDA a target of raising Rs 1,000 crore as a budgetary support and the money was credited to the state excechequer. But this time, the VUDA has been told to generate the funds and utilise the same in gorunding of some key projects including Metro Rail, INS Virat amusement park, Multi Sports Complex, Srikakulam Ring Road and etc.
“It true that VUDA has been told to generate funds to fund some major projects. The instructions are clear. Not only VUDA, all the departments must list out the promoters who have been given land but failed to develop it as per the MoU. Several such establishments and entrepreneurs have not started any activity in the assigned land. Now, those land will be taken back and realloted to the new investors,” a senior official of VUDA said.
However, the officials say that they are for a herculean task. The VUDA, in association with Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), has to develop infrastructure for INS Virat amusement park, Metro Rail, Multi Sports Complex and Srikakulam Ring Road and etc. According to preliminary estimates, the VUDA needs Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 crore to complete the first phase of the projects.
“The government wants the VUDA to complete the Multi Sports Complex before the state hosts the national games in 2018. The proposed INS Virat park should also be ready by 2017. But, the target of generating such a whopping fund can’t not achieved unless we we sell the unutilised properties,” a key official of VUDA said.