With patches of plaster and paint peeling off some of the walls of the palatial house built by former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at Rushikonda beach in Visakhapatnam, the Andhra Pradesh government Saturday constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine and recommend the best possible utilisation of the place that is now lying idle.
Jagan had got the house built as his residence cum office in a bid to shift the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam. A few months after it was built, Jagan’s YSRCP was drubbed in Assembly elections last June. The property has been lying vacant ever since.
Jana Sena Party president and deputy chief minister K Pawan Kalyan, who visited the bungalow on Friday, said that plaster and patches of cement and concrete were falling off the walls facing the seaside, and suggested that the government should do something about it.
According to a government order issued on August 29, the GoM will be headed by Tourism, Culture, and Cinematography Minister Kandula Durgesh, along with Finance, Planning, Commercial Taxes, and Legislative Affairs Minister Payyavula Keshav, and Social Welfare, Disabled and Senior Citizen Welfare, and Sachivalayam & Village Volunteer Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy.
The Special Chief Secretary, Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture Department, will serve as the convener of the committee, while the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the AP Tourism Development Corporation will extend necessary support. The GoM has also been authorised to invite special representatives from other departments, if required.
The committee will submit its recommendations to the government, which will take a final call on the future course of action for the property.
This development comes just a day after Kalyan visited the Rushikonda resort, inspected its infrastructure, and took note of the facilities available at the site. His visit has drawn fresh attention to the long-pending decision on how best to utilise the strategically located resort.
Kalyan said that the YSRCP government spent hundreds of crores to build the palatial bungalow, calling it a colossal waste of government resources. “This property has started decaying as it is not in use. I am suggesting that the government should hold exhibitions, conferences, meetings, etc and also lease it out if necessary to help recover costs to maintain it,” Kalyan said.
There have also been suggestions to convert it into a wedding and convention property, which can be given out on lease. The property is spread over nearly 10 acres and has separate blocks.
Former minister and YSRCP leader Gudivada Amarnath said the property at Rushikonda was not built as a personal place by Jagan but rather as an office cum residence to house various government departments.
“Whenever there is a crisis, the coalition government raises the issue of the Rushikonda resort, and its publicity mechanism goes hyperactive. From the Chief Minister down to the coalition cadre, everyone comes to Vizag. The resort has become a tourist spot and a punching bag with remarks targeting our leadership and calling its Rushikonda Palace of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy,” he said.
“A broken piece of the false ceiling of the resort was shown time and again after Kalyan’s visit, but the poor condition of the Secretariat built at exorbitant rates by Chandrababu Naidu was ignored,” he said. “This is being done to hide government efforts to privatise the Vizag steel plant.”
