VIJAYAWADA: Rushikonda palace issue dominated the Question Hour on Thursday, the third day of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly session.
BJP floor leader P Vishnu Kumar Raju termed the splurge of crores of rupees of public money by the previous YSRC regime on Rushikonda palace most disturbing. A whopping sum of Rs 409 crore was spent on the palace. Houses could be constructed for 22,743 poor people with that money at Rs 1.8 lakh per unit.
“The astonishing fact is that Rs 11,46,840 was spent on a single commode in that palatial building indicating the extravagant spending of public funds for personal luxury,” he said, while opining that there was no wrong if Jagan was put behind bars for life for such a colossal waste of public funds.
TDP legislator from Undi K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, in a sarcastic manner, remarked that the Rushikonda palace should be retained as a monument of a dictator’s opulent lifestyle.
“For that matter, one should be thankful for this building, best described as the political tomb of Jagan, which ensured that the TDP and its allies were given an overwhelming public mandate,” he observed. It may be mentioned here that Raju had filed petitions in the Supreme Court on the extravagant spending of taxpayers’ money by the YSRC government.
Replying to a question from Vishnu Kumar Raju, Minister for Tourism Kandula Durgesh said the APTDC constructed a resort comprising seven blocks with a total built-up area of 13,542 sqm on 9.88 acres in the total project site of 61 acres at Yendada village in place of the old resort at Rushikonda. The blocks include Vijayanagara (3), Kalinga, Gajapathi and Vengi (2). The cost per sqft was Rs 15,293, and Rs 222.92 crore was spent. Giving details of the cost of other components executed besides blocks, he put the total cost of the entire structure at Rs 409.39 crore and the cost for development of sqft, including buildings, was Rs 9,513.
Taking a dig at the former Chief Minister, Vishnu Kumar Raju wondered,“Jagan used to say it was a class war and a struggle between the rich and the poor. The extravaganza evident from this palatial construction clearly shows, who is a feudal and who is a pauper.”
He explained how Rushikonda Resort under the APTDC, which was affordable to even the common man once, became a ‘No Trespassing Zone’ over a time during the previous regime and finally the place designated for the CM’s camp office. The Visakhapatnam North MLA’s sarcastic description of the functioning of fixtures like commode, showers and wash basins in the palace made the members break into laughter.