Ex-Andhra CM Naidu calls Jagan 'despot' after state govt scraps Amaravati 'Start-up Area Project'

 In a major development, the Singapore consortium and Andhra Pradesh government mutually scrapped the "Start-up Area Project" within Amaravati city as it was not found feasible by both the parties.

This project was envisaged by Andhra Pradesh's former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu during the earlier Telugu Desam party regime. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendernath said it was found unfeasible to take up such a huge project which involved huge investment and did not match the proposed development.

The Start-up Area Project within Amaravati city was proposed to develop an area of about 16.91 acres by a company called Amaravati Development Partners Limited which in turn consisted of a few Singapore companies namely Ascendas Sinbridge and Sincorp and Amaravati Development Corporation belonging to the Andhra Pradesh Government.

"The proposal was that the Singapore Consortium would have an equity of 58% and 42% of the Amaravati Development Corporation. After deliberations and discussions between both parties, it was decided to close this project. It was realised that this 1700 acres is a small part of the big huge city was proposed to be developed. The huge city along with the area around it which comprises the CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) is about 217 sq.km, which is roughly about two times size of Mumbai including Navi Mumbai and suburbs," explains the finance minister while adding, "within this CRDA, there again is a city called Amaravati, which again is roughly about one lakh acres. This area was proposed to be acquired by way of 35,000 acres of fertile land belonging to various owners by way of land pooling and about 10,000 acres of government land. It was also proposed to acquire over 40,000 acres of forest land by deforesting the existing forest for which the then AP government had requested the Government of India to deforest it. This Amaravati city is a part of the CRDA and this is about 1700 acres within the one lakh acres.”

During deliberations, it was felt by both the parties that it requires about Rs two lakh crores of money to develop that one lakh acres which is the size state annual budget. Unless that amount is spent and the whole area is developed there is no meaning of having a business district in it.

“One can understand the project would take decades to be completed and which cannot be done within a span of five years. Neither the time permits nor even the finances permit this sort of development n such a short time. The government of Andhra Pradesh has now realised the various other requirements of the state today like infrastructure development of health, industries, employment to youth and the holistic development of the entire state with 13 districts, " Buggana Rajendranath opined.

The finance minister concluded, "In this scenario, it was realised that the development of 1700 acres alone is not as easy as was thought of by the previous government which one can say is an impossible task. So that is how it was decided to wind up the company and it is in the best interests of the state."

On the other hand, former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. ``YS Jagan is not just destroying Andhra Pradesh with his foolish decisions, but also hurting India's brand equity as an investment destination. It is time for people of AP to join hands and teach this despot a lesson,'' Naidu tweeted.

 Meanwhile, the Singapore company which is represented by the ministry of trade and industry, Singapore, has released a press note where it says, in this instance, the closure of the consortium does not impact their investments in India.