The Andhra Pradesh Assembly is witnessing heated exchanges over the World Bank’s exit from ‘Project Amaravati’ with all political outfits engaging in a blame game.
So, what is this all about and who is at fault here?
In 2016, Chandrababu Naidu through the Centre sought a loan of USD 500 million to construct Amaravati under the Externally Aided Project (EAP) programme.
However, the application was put on hold following letters from a few farmers in the capital region in May, 2017, who alleged widespread irregularities in land procurement.
The World Bank decided to send a fact-finding team to investigate the allegations and it informed the YSRCP government recently about sending the team.
But the Central Government was not happy at a third-party investigation into the matter and cancelled the request for the loan.
It was an easy decision for the Centre who was the ‘sovereign guarantee’ for the loan of USD 500 million.
The YSRCP government will not be that inconvenienced either as neither YS Jagan nor his coterie has anything at stake in Amaravati.
The people of Andhra Pradesh who will ultimately have to clear the loan will now be spared that necessity.
Then, who stands to lose? Maybe, the Kamma community aka TDP!
The ‘Men in Yellow’ knew in advance that the new capital would come up at Amaravati. They bought vast tracts of land from the poor, unsuspecting farmers at throwaway prices and sold it for astronomical pries after Chandrababu finally came out with an official announcement.
In other words, in business parlance, it is a classic case of ‘Insider Trading’.
The Kammas who haven’t sold their lands and are into realty development in the region might be the ones facing a setback for the moment as the real-estate in the area has crashed as no one in their right minds is willing to invest in Amaravati now.
YS Jagan has brought the curtains down on the biggest real-estate venture of the Kamma community called ‘Amaravati’.