YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday reiterated that there is no point in spending thousands of crores on Amaravati alone that would benefit none and generate any employment for anyone.
Jagan was interacting with farmers from Tadepalli, Vundavalli and Penumaka villages who met him at his camp office and requested him to do away with land acquisition notice issued to them by the previous government to acquire their lands for the capital region.
The chief minister said Amaravati was part of neither Vijayawada nor Guntur.
“It doesn’t have proper roads, drainage facilities and pipelines. For these infrastructure facilities alone, the government has to spend Rs 2 crore per acre. The previous government had spent only Rs 5,674 crore on Amaravati and kept bills for another Rs 2,297 crore pending payment. This is just a drop in the ocean,” he said.
Jagan said five years down the line, the situation in Amaravathi would be horrible and the youth would not get any employment opportunities.
“Instead, if we can spend even 10 per cent of money on Visakhapatnam, it would develop further and generate huge employment,” he said.
The chief minister vowed to develop Tadepalli and Mangalagiri as model municipalities at a cost of Rs 1100 crore.
“Leaving all these, why should we spent one lakh crore rupees on an imaginary city like Amaravati?” he asked.
He, however, said Amaravati would continue to be the legislative capital.
“We shall create necessary infrastructure in the region, so that farmers would get good rates for their plots. If they want to go back to agriculture, it is their wish. Please let us know what you want and I will fulfil all your needs,” Jagan assured.