VIJAYAWADA: Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana alleged that the Indo UK Institute of Health (IUIH), for which the previous government allotted land in Amaravati, backed out of its investment as the TDP sought kickbacks. He claimed that it was because of the TDP government, but not the YSRC dispensation that the State had lost a huge investment.
Speaking to the media at the YSRC office in Tadepalli on Thursday, he alleged, “The IUIH was given land by the previous government and it was done on a grand scale. As expensive land was given at a lower price, the TDP demanded kickbacks. When they did not accede, the project was cancelled. Can a government do so when a huge investment is concerned, that too in a matter between two countries and when the Prime Minister’s Office is also involved in it? Shouldn’t the State government have convinced them to stay instead of letting go of a major investment?”
For the record, the proposed IUIH Medicity was estimated to cost Rs 1,000 crore. The institute proposed a 1,000-bed hospital, for which it was allotted 150 acres of land in Navuluru -- to be given in two phases -- in collaboration with King’s College, London. Since there was a delay in getting the foreign partner on board, which was one of the conditions of the State, the APCRDA had even served notices to expedite the construction process.
The minister further demanded an answer from the TDP leaders, who have been pointing fingers at the YSRC accusing the ruling dispensation of disrupting investments. “Will TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu or his son Lokesh answer now. Let them state why the project was shelved,” he said. Botcha also stuck to his guns in the issue of gazette notification for Amaravati. “If the TDP leaders claim otherwise, let them show the document,” he said.
To a query on the expenditure made on Amaravati so far, he concurred that Rs 6,835 crore was spent. He added that the new government had cancelled tenders which have no financial tie-up for funding the projects’ execution, in a bid to reduce the burden on the exchequer.
Local body elections likely in December
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said that the State government is planning to go for local body elections in December. Speaking at a workshop for municipal commissioners on Thursday, the minister said that the process for the local body polls would begin in November.
He also urged the commissioners to focus on the vector-borne and seasonal diseases. “Steps should be taken to prevent the outbreak of diseases,” he said. Botcha also directed the commissioners to ensure that no illegal construction comes up in the State from October 2. He instructed them to expedite the urban housing project, under which 25 lakh houses would be given to the beneficiaries by next Ugadi