Jagan’s Rs 450-cr ‘palace’: Touted as resort, then CM’s residence, Rushikonda project in eye of storm

Hyderabad: The fate of a magnificent “tourism resort” in Vizag, purported to be the office-cum-residence of Jagan Mohan Reddy if he retained power, hangs in balance, with the Andhra Pradesh government intending a probe into the project mired in alleged violations of environmental norms.

TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, a minister now, posted on ‘X’ that an inquiry would be done to probe “Jagan’s exploits”, and that the structures would be “devoted to the people of Andhra Pradesh.”

A tourism department note prepared after the change of regime, accessed by ThePrint, stated that the structure, built over 1.46 lakh sq ft at a cost of Rs 450 crore, was going to be the CM’s office-cum-residence.

The grand buildings were allegedly built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances and other environmental norms while excavating almost half of the scenic Rushi-konda (hill), the location of a popular beach-front tourist spot.

The new government is yet to come up with an idea to appropriately utilise the structures, which, its leaders say, was built “to satiate Jagan’s lavishness.”

Its fate will depend on the high court verdict on alleged violations of rules, said Jana Sena Party leader Murthy Yadav. The JSP leader had fought against the constructions in the NGT and the courts.

What is Rushikonda project

In 2021, when Jagan made his resolve clear to shift AP’s executive seat to Vizag despite the pending legal cases and logistical challenges, his administration moved swiftly with a plan, under the aegis of the AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), to construct “a luxurious retreat” at Rushikonda.

The design is of seven blocks with a built up area of 19,968 sqm on a land measuring 9.88 acre in the total project site of 61 acre. The blocks were named after some of the greatest regional kingdoms such as Vijayanagara, Vengi, Kalinga, and Gajapathi.

In February, the tourism department stated that Vengi Block A has security, back office, suite rooms and restaurant. Vengi Block B has a business hotel consisting of guest rooms, conference halls and restaurant. Kalinga Block has a reception cum waiting area, luxury suite rooms, conference halls and banquet halls. Gajapathi Block has housekeeping, cafeteria and business centers,

Vijayanagara Blocks A, B and C, which were to serve as Jagan’s residence as per TDP leaders, have presidential suite, villa suites, spa, fitness center and a banquet hall.

There were some changes in the built-up area of the design later. To build these blocks, the AP tourism demolished Haritha Resort, which it was operating, within days in 2021.

Since the site, abutting the sea shore, falls under CRZ-II area, the APTDC approached the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) which gave clearances in May 2021. Subsequently, in 2022, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation approved the resort plan. The fire department’s NOC came in in 2023.

Under three phases and then the infrastructure works i.e, water, roads, power, landscaping, interiors-furnishings, carried out over the last three years, “total cost of the Redevelopment of the Resort at Rushikonda worked out to Rs 451.67 crore,” reveals a government note accessed by ThePrint.

For this purpose, the Jagan administration engaged private construction, design, architecture firms — some of them allegedly owned by persons close to the YSRCP.

Tourist resort, or CM’s camp-office?

In November 2023, following Jagan’s announcement that the CMO would operate from Vizag from December, after a few such unmet deadlines before, a government panel identified the resort at Rushikonda as fit for the transit accommodation and camp office of the CM.

“Further, the government accepted the committee recommendations and ordered that the Tourism Resort of 1,46,784 sq ft., at Rushikonda shall henceforth be the CM’s Camp Office-cum-Residence,” reads the government note.

The Jagan administration, in December 2023, asked the tourism department to make required internal changes and also to provide suitable furniture and other facilities fit to be utilised as transit accommodation and camp office “as APTDC is executing the work of the resort with the budget sanctioned by the government.”

However, when the Rushikonda complex was rather quietly inaugurated by YSRCP tourism minister R.K.Roja in February, just two weeks ahead of the election code kicking in, it was still stated as a new resort.

A statement issued then said that for the resort redevelopment including site development, slope protection system, structural, architectural, interiors, lifts, electrical, plumbing, Heating-Ventilation-AC, firefighting, networking and automation works for all the blocks along with landscape and external infrastructure, a 150 KL fire sump, 100 KL domestic sump, 100 KLD STP, two 1000 KVA transformers, three 1010 KVA generators, and streetlights, “an amount of Rs 365.24 crore has been spent” already.

However, the complex remained out of bounds for the public and the media till last week.

As Jagan exuded confidence of retaining power, at least two YSRCP ministers from Vizag/Uttarandhra region – Botcha Satyanarayana and Gudivada Amarnath – announced prior to results that the CM would take oath in Vizag on 9 June.

Instead, Naidu was sworn-in as the CM on 12 June near Vijayawada. A few days later, TDP MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao got the gates flung open and stepped inside, taking along his partymen and a few reporters.

“The size of the bathroom in your palace is larger than the houses you claimed to have built for the poor. This hundreds of crores superfluous spent could have been utilised for uplift of the needy,” Rao remarked, accusing Jagan of keeping the project under wraps.

A washroom inside the property that was inaugurated in February | By Special Arrangement

A washroom inside the property that was inaugurated in February | By Special Arrangement

Former minister Gudivada Amarnath defended Jagan’s plan, resort as intended to “offer a comfortable stay for dignitaries like the President, Governors visiting AP’s financial capital.”

“While it is true that Jagan wanted to administrate from Vizag on becoming CM again, the buildings are not for personal use, opulence as being portrayed by TDP. Instead of a false propaganda, the present government should contemplate on how best to utilise the well-equipped structures,” he told the media.

Government officials declined to comment on the costs of opulent materials allegedly used in the project. “While spending public money on such opulence is a loathful act, what needs to be abhorred more is the dreadful damage done to the environment,” a highly placed source in the new government told ThePrint.

‘Irreversible harm to Vizag ecology’

At least three politicians — YSRCP rebel MP Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, a JSP corporator Murthy Yadav, and TDP MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna — had petitioned the NGT, high court alleging violations of CRZ, Vizag master plan, other environmental regulations and court orders. Their submissions included that the Rushikonda hill was excavated in over 20 acres “in an irreparable and irreversible harm to the environment and ecology of Visakhapatnam.”

In response to a NGT interim order in 2022 barring further constructions, the APTDC approached the Supreme Court, which ordered that “until the High Court considered the issue, construction will be permitted only on the area where the construction existed earlier and which has been demolished (old resort) and the flat area”.

Following a HC order later, a MoEF constituted team had in March 2023, surveyed the project development, hill cut slope and soil dump area which totalled to 18 acres. It observed that APTDC changed the land use patterns, modified the number of blocks along with built up area of each block without prior approval of the MoEF and that it shifted the location of individual blocks.

After examining the report, the HC in October 2023 observed that the ministry should assess the impact of violations through a committee of experts. A committee with K. Gowrappan, an expert in damage assessment, as chairman visited the site in December 2023.

Before the report was finalised, Gowrappan died in January. As the MoEF is yet to file the committee report before the HC, officials said, the matter is pending before the court.

Vizag-based former finance secretary E.A.S Sarma has been since 2021 relentless in appealing, reminding the ministry of “the violations APTDC resorted to in the project,” and asking the secretary to revoke the CRZ etc permissions “as every day’s delay will imply that much additional damage to Rushikonda.”

Sarma had in August 2023 also alerted the ministry about the “illegality committed by APTDC to divert the entire Rushikonda tourism complex for a non-tourist purpose, in violation of the MoEF issued CRZ approval.”

“It appears the complex will no longer be used for the purpose it was set up but instead for housing parts of the AP government offices, including the CMO,” he wrote.

Sarma compared the Rushikonda case to Kochi’s Maradu apartment blocks, once housing hundreds of families, demolished in January 2020 upon the apex court’s orders for violating the CRZ rules.

“The ministry should take a cue from the apex court’s Maradu judgement and apply the same yardstick to Rushikonda structures, which too have come up in violation of CRZ. It should identify portions of structures in violation of CRZ clearance conditions and order similar demolition, failing which it would be committing contempt of the spirit of the apex court’s landmark judgement.”

“There cannot be one set of rules for the unfortunate Maradu flat owners and another for a PSU like APTDC,” the retired bureaucrat said.

Meanwhile, Murthy Yadav said that the resort was to have about 60 rooms but the now standing structure has 12 magnificent suites worth “for emperors of a bygone age”.

“The purpose approved no longer exists, and the complex, with conference halls etc, is no way suitable for tourist accommodation. Rs 450 crore spent already, the new government would have to expend another Rs 50 crore or so to bring it into resort like use. However, it should be demolished, partly or fully, going by the precedents of court orders on earlier CRZ violations,” the JSP leader told ThePrint.

(Edited by Tony Rai)