VIJAYAWADA: Rubbishing the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report as a ‘waste paper’, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu called upon the people to celebrate Sankranti as Amaravati Sankranti and dump the reports of GN Rao Committee and BCG in the bonfire on Bhogi.
Alleging that there was no head and tail to the BCG report, Naidu sought to know when the YSRC government appointed it and what were its terms of reference. The BCG having connections with YSRC Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy’s son-in-law Rohit Reddy, had prepared the report in accordance with the directions of those in the government, he said.
Stating that the BCG itself mentioned that the government urged it to look into the distributed capital model for the State, the Opposition Leader said there was no such right to the government. Naidu also expressed doubts over Secretary (Planning) GSRKR Vijay Kumar disclosing the report within 30 minutes after its submission to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“How can you (BCG) play games with the people by preparing a report without going through the required issues? Have you read the AP Reorganisation Act? Do you have minimum common sense?’’ Naidu thundered at a press conference here on Saturday.
NGT declared Amaravati safe from floods: Naidu
Opposing the three-capital proposal, he contended that Amaravati is an ideal location for the capital and it got the approval of people as well as the Sivaramakrishnan Committee appointed by the Centre. Stating that the Sivaramakrishnan Committee prepared the report after analysing the factors, including risk, land, water and connectivity, he said Amaravati emerged as the best option and the then government had taken a decision accordingly and the farmers of the area responded positively to the government appeal and gave 33,000 acres of land under the Land Pooling Scheme for the development of capital.
“Like Hyderabad, we planned to develop Amaravati as a megacity by including Vijayawada, Guntur, Mangalagiri, Tadepalli and Tenali and implemented the action plan sincerely. At that time the population of Vizag was 17 lakh, whereas of Amaravati, comprising the said areas stood above 22 lakh. Our vision is greater than the BCG,’’ he claimed.
Referring to the BCG report that Amaravati was marooned during Krishna floods in 2009 and development of such city on the banks of river is not feasible, Naidu termed it a big lie. Reading out the National Green Tribunal verdict, he said Amaravati was safe from floods as it was not affected during the floods in 2009. “Is there any agency better than NGT. Is it not a slap on your face? Shouldn’t you feel ashamed?” he questioned.
Asserting that Visakhapatnam and Kurnool would have been developed to the next level if the present government continued the initiatives taken by the previous regime, he said the BCG ignored to study the development of Visakhapatnam before and after Hudhud cyclone.
Botcha’s poser to TDP on land purchases
To a query on alleged purchase of lands by YSRC leaders in and around Visakhapatnam, Botcha explained, “If lands are bought after the declaration of a capital, there is no problem. About 498 acres were allotted to the in-laws of Naidu. But, later it was brought under the CRDA limits, clearly indicating vested interests. In 30 years of its existence, Heritage Group had no expansion plans. But, after Naidu became the Chief Minister, it bought land in Amaravati even before the announcement of capital location.”
The minister also recalled that Jagan had supported Amaravati only because he did not want to create regional conflicts. “Our chief was clear when he said the government gave a chance for a discussion only after the announcement of capital was made. In that situation, he chose to welcome the move as any statement otherwise might have led to regional issues,” Botcha said.