Who obstructed Amaravati? 

Even a decade after Chandrababu Naidu started the Amaravati capital construction works, not a
single permanent building has been completed there till date. During his
2014-19 rule, Chandrababu wasted thousands of crores in the name of temporary
buildings. Now, in the name of permanent buildings, endless corruption is
taking place in Amaravati. Chandrababu selected the Amaravati region as capital
against the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan Committee. He wasted crores
of rupees on designs. He violated laws while acquiring assigned lands for the
capital. In the past, he finalised ₹48,000 crore worth of contracts, but
between 2014-19, he executed only ₹5,587.28 crore worth of works. Why didn’t
Babu execute more works than that? By borrowing thousands of crores at high
interest rates for Amaravati, he is imposing a burden on future generations
that they cannot bear. He is cheating the farmers who gave their lands by
delaying the allotment of returnable plots and now giving them plots in ponds
and ditches. Hundreds of farmers queue every day at the CRDA office seeking
justice over the injustice done to them regarding plots. The people and the
opposition are not opposing Amaravati being made the capital… they are only
opposing the corruption scams happening in the name of capital construction.
Here are the facts and figures related to Amaravati construction…

 Corruption in the Name of Amaravati 

 The proverb “Aadaleka Maddela Oodu” (unable to play, the drum is broken) perfectly fits the
Amaravati issue. In 2014, Chandrababu decided to build the capital at
Amaravati. He collected 50,000 acres of land. Saying that was not enough, he is
now collecting another 20,000 acres. In the Amaravati capital construction
works, which were taken up with thousands of crores of public money, massive
corruption is taking place. Estimates are being inflated recklessly and
contracts are being awarded to their own people, from which they are taking
commissions.

 Loot in the name of Permanent Buildings 

 Chandrababu’s government, which already wasted hundreds of crores in the name of temporary
buildings, has now opened the floodgates of massive loot in the name of
permanent constructions. Such corruption is unheard of anywhere else in the
world. Babu, who promoted Amaravati as a self-financed project, is now saying
there is no money for welfare schemes, yet in just 15 months since coming to
power, his government has imposed a debt burden of ₹2 lakh crore on the people.
Thousands of crores in loans are being taken. When we examine the inflated
estimates for permanent buildings, work package allocations, and mobilisation
advances by the coalition government, it becomes clear how much loot is
happening in the name of Amaravati. Intellectuals and economic experts opine
that injustice is being done to both farmers and the state in the name of
capital construction.

 Corruption started from the Selection of the Capital Region Itself

 What should have been a well-intentioned project for the people of the state was corrupted from
the beginning by their own schemes. They propagated through their yellow media
that the capital would be built here or there. After everyone bought land in various
places, key figures in the then-Telugu Desam government and their insiders were
secretly informed about the final location. They had the land purchased through
these individuals. Now, that land has multiplied in value by over 100 times.
The profits are being reaped by others, not the local farmers, and the public
is witnessing this.

 100% estimate hike for secretariat construction 

This time, Chandrababu’s coalition government has increased estimates by 75% and taken
them to ₹77,500 crore purely for commissions in the name of Amaravati. Tenders
were called for secretariat construction at ₹4,689 crore. The same secretariat
had tenders called in 2018 for only ₹2,271 crore. At that time, earthwork and
pillars were also completed. They called re-tenders for the same works and
increased estimates by 100%, taking them to ₹4,689 crore.

 High Court building construction cost reaches ₹1,480.69 Crore 

 The High Court building is being constructed in AGC ‘F’ Block on 42.36 acres with basement +
ground + 7 floors, spanning 20,32,231 sq.ft. Foster + Partners designed this
building. 

Tenders were called on 1 March last year for ₹752.06 crore on a lumpsum basis to be
completed in 24 months and maintained for another three years. NCC Ltd bagged
the tender at 4.52% excess (₹786.05 crore). They agreed to pay additional
₹138.64 crore towards GST, NACC, sewerage etc. That means the contract value
for the permanent High Court building is ₹924.69 crore. Recently, the
government sanctioned ₹556 crore for these works. With this, the High Court
building construction cost has reached ₹1,480.69 crore.

 Assembly Permanent building construction Cost reaches ₹1,149.36 Crore

Assembly building cost per sq.ft. reaches ₹10,244.07 

The Assembly building is being constructed in AGC ‘E’ Block with basement + ground + 3
floors, spanning 11,21,975 sq.ft. Foster + Partners also designed this
building. Tenders were called on 1 March last year for ₹590.86 crore on a
lumpsum basis to be completed in 24 months and maintained for another three
years. L&T Ltd bagged the tender at 4.48% excess (₹617.33 crore). They
agreed to pay additional ₹107.69 crore towards taxes. That means the contract
value for the permanent Assembly building is ₹725.02 crore. Recently, the
government sanctioned ₹424.34 crore for these works. With this, the Assembly
building construction cost has reached ₹1,149.36 crore. The Assembly building
construction cost per sq.ft. has reached ₹10,244.07.

 Isn’t this extravagance? 
 
In the past, the temporary Assembly building was constructed for ₹180 crore and the temporary
High Court for ₹173 crore. What is their condition now? In those days itself,
they spent ₹11,000 per sq.ft., which is unheard of anywhere in the country.
Isn’t this all extravagance? If Parliament was built for ₹770 crore, they are
building the AP Assembly for almost the same cost.

 They are building the AP High Court bigger than the Supreme Court! Building a High Court
bigger than the Supreme Court and an Assembly bigger than Parliament is
increasing the construction cost. Experts say this is all wasteful expenditure
and squandering of borrowed funds. Do we really need to build such huge
buildings at such enormous cost? Intellectuals are questioning whether there is
any sense in this.

 Corruption in Amaravati Visible to the Naked Eye

 The chief leader’s corruption master plan is now clearly visible in the Amaravati
construction works. In the Amaravati region, they have set up a syndicate with
contractors and are awarding capital construction works at exorbitant rates.
Recently, in the tenders worth ₹10,696.79 crore for 37 packages for flood
mitigation and remaining road works, the Amaravati Development Corporation
Limited (ADCL) exposed the syndicate’s manipulation. For 22 packages worth
₹16,463.83 crore, including layout development for plots to farmers who gave
land, MLA/MLC quarters, and bungalows for ministers, judges, and IAS officers,
the CRDA revealed the greed of government bigwigs. Together, ADCL and CRDA
called tenders for 59 packages worth ₹27,160.62 crore, which were distributed
among eight syndicate contract companies at ₹28,209.62 crore, 3.94% to 4.34%
above the base value, imposing an additional ₹1,049 crore burden on the
treasury. Had the reverse tendering system been in place, competition among
contractors would have reduced costs by at least 8%, saving ₹2,500-3,000 crore
for the treasury, as official sources clarify. The construction of ministers’
and judges’ houses costs over ₹10,000 per square foot. For the Happy Nest
venture, they are spending an additional ₹818 crore on top of previous
expenditures, where the cost per square foot is ₹4,500. Adding ₹3,000 could
provide five-star luxury facilities. Isn’t this loot? For flood mitigation and
road construction in the capital, tenders worth approximately ₹10,700 crore were
called, with works awarded to Chandrababu’s close associate BSRS Infra and RVR
Projects, linked to Eenadu MD Kiran. Despite claiming no flooding in the
capital region, they are installing five lifts at a cost of ₹1,404 crore. They
also plan to build six more reservoirs. Isn’t this loot?

 ₹64.01 Crore per Kilometre Expenditure 

 The ADCL is recklessly inflating the estimated costs of construction works in the capital.
For the remaining works on the N-12 road, ADCL set a rate of ₹53.88 crore per
kilometre and awarded it to contractors. Now, for extending the E-13 road to
NH-16, it has fixed a contract value of ₹64.01 crore per kilometre, with a
tender notification issued on 7 April 2025. NHAI builds other six-lane roads
across the country, including all taxes, at ₹20 crore per kilometre. However,
in the state, ADCL officials are artificially inflating cost estimates to
favour the syndicate contractors set up by the chief leader, according to
experts.

 Why 20,000 Acres of Land Pooling? 

 During the YSRCP regime, the Gannavaram airport was upgraded with a new runway and terminal to
become an international airport. Now, the chief leader claims he will build
another airport on 5,000 acres in Amaravati. Leaving the 34,000 acres already
taken from farmers undeveloped, he is now determined to acquire over 20,000
more acres through land pooling.

 Even Though There Is Flood Risk in Amaravati… 

Even before lending, the World Bank and IIT Chennai warned that Amaravati is a flood-prone
area and that building a capital there would require massive expenditure. Yet
Chandrababu remains unconcerned. He plans to spend ₹1,400 crore on four lift
irrigation schemes and six reservoirs for flood mitigation.

 All Debt…Then Extravagance… 

Chandrababu’s government already spent hundreds of crores on temporary Assembly and High
Court buildings. Now, by taking up permanent building construction, the money
spent on temporary buildings has become a total waste. That too was borrowed
money. The permanent Assembly and High Court buildings are also being built
with borrowed funds. Because they are building them much larger than necessary,
the construction cost is increasing. In Velagapudi in 2015, the temporary
Secretariat construction was awarded to Shapoorji Pallonji and L&T at
₹3,350 per sq.ft. for ₹201 crore. But by the time construction was completed,
the estimate had reached ₹1,151 crore. That means they paid bills at ₹19,183
per sq.ft. Experts say that by the time the permanent Assembly and High Court
buildings are completed, the construction cost will be even higher. They remind
us that even in metros like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, five-star
buildings with Italian marble do not cost more than ₹4,000 per sq.ft.

 CAG Faulted in the Past 

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report warned that the Amaravati capital project
would impose an unbearable financial burden on the state, both immediately and
in the future. The main reason is that the previous government chose the
greenfield Amaravati region against the recommendations of the expert
committee, ignoring government lands that were available in large quantities.
The CAG submitted its audit report, which the state government tabled in the
Assembly on Monday. In it, the CAG severely criticised the policies followed by
the TDP government and the land acquisition process.

 Everything Incomplete 

 The CAG conducted three audits on the Amaravati capital development projects. It
pointed out that the previous government did not disclose the key limitations
considered while selecting Amaravati as a greenfield capital nor the
feasibility study details to assess the actual land requirement for capital
city development. The CAG said the overall project plan for capital city
development lacked completeness.

 Assigned Land Scam 

 During the TDP government’s rule, Chandrababu’s land greed turned assigned lands of weaker
sections into fuel. Government lands also disappeared. They ended up in the
hands of Chandrababu, Narayana, their benamis, and close associates. A shocking
fact is that approximately ₹5,000 crore worth of lands (₹4,239.75 crore worth
of 1,072 acres under land pooling package + ₹760.25 crore worth of 328 acres of
government lands) in Amaravati were grabbed by Chandrababu, Narayana, and their
benamis. The CID’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigation brought this
land loot to light with evidence. A case was registered and investigation
started. In 2014, as soon as the TDP government came to power, Chandrababu drew
up a big land-loot plan in the name of capital. For this, G.O. No.1 was issued
on 1 January 2015 announcing the land pooling package. In it, the land pooling
package was announced only for private lands in Amaravati. No package was
announced for assigned lands. Later, Chandrababu and Narayana sent their benamis
and agents into Amaravati villages and scared SC, ST, BC, and poor farmers by
saying the government would take assigned lands without any package. Extremely
worried, they sold their assigned lands to Chandrababu, Narayana, and other TDP
leaders’ benamis at very low prices (₹2-5 lakh per acre) through sale deeds.
After the lands came into their hands, they issued G.O. No.41 on 17 February
2016 dividing the assigned lands into six categories and announcing the land
pooling package. Ignoring objections from senior officials and without even
Cabinet approval, they brought this G.O. Not only that, they even cheated the
court and executed their plan.