The lavish "palace on the hill" overlooks a beach
A hilltop palace in Vishakhapatnam or Vizag, built in utmost secrecy behind giant barricades, was revealed to the public on Sunday, weeks after the Andhra Pradesh election that saw N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ousting YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP government.
The TDP alleges that the opulent property built on Rushikonda Hill was intended as a camp office for Jagan Reddy, who had declared Vizag as Andhra Pradesh's capital.
TDP MLA Ganta Srinivas Rao led an NDA delegation and the media in the first-ever tour of the lavish "palace on the hill" overlooking a beach on Sunday. The excursion left everyone stunned.
The CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone) clearance was given by the central government in May 2021 for a tourism project to be developed on Rushikonda Hills by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.
TDP's national general secretary Nara Lokesh, however, says Jagan Reddy decided to use it exclusively as his camp office and built it at a cost of Rs 500 crore from the state exchequer.
The Rushikonda palace is spread over a 9.88-acre sea-facing site. Ganta Srinivas Rao said the previous government had built it in secrecy, using public funds on luxurious amenities, high-quality furnishing, sparkling chandeliers, bathtubs and the works.
Mr Rao compared the extravagance to palaces built by Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein and, closer home, Gali Janardhan Reddy. The "palace", he argued, includes a large conference hall designed for reviews and meetings - not exactly a feature of tourist properties.
The construction costs were kept "highly confidential" and contracts were awarded to supporters of Jagan's YSRCP, the TDP alleges.
The TDP leader said green resorts for tourism on Rushikonda, which generated an annual income of up to Rs 8 crore, were demolished for the palace. The state government misled the courts, he alleged. Initially, the state government called it a star hotel, then a "CM camp office", and later a tourism project, he claimed.
The project was launched as a star hotel with a budget of Rs 91 crore, with a 15-month deadline. However, Rs 95 crore was spent just on leveling the land, and another Rs 21 crore to beautify the surroundings, the TDP alleges. To keep the construction activities hidden, 20-foot barricades were erected.
According to Mr Rao, when the project was challenged, a High Court expert committee found several violations but construction continued.
No one, not even new Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy Pawan Kalyan, really knew what was coming up behind the barricades. "Divine intervention prevented Jagan from using the palace," Mr Rao quipped, referring to Jagan's election rout.
A leader of Jagan Reddy's party denied that the former chief minister built a colossal camp office using public money. "The property was meant to host the Prime Minister, President and other dignitaries since Vizag was going to be the capital city. It was not a CM camp office," said former industry minister G Amarnath.