Praja Vedika to be demolished, Chandrababu Naidu’s house too under threat

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy kicked up a political storm by announcing that the Praja Vedika built by the N. Chandrababu Naidu government is an illegal construction and will be demolished on Wednesday. The swanky glass walled Praja Vedika was used by Chandrababu Naidu as a venue to meet the public and hold press conferences etc. It is situated adjacent to Mr Naidu’s private residence in Undavalli, which itself is under threat.

The building in which Mr Naidu has been residing ever since he shifted from Hyderabad in 2015, has been served several notices in the past for being an illegal construction. YSR Congress MLA from Mangalagiri, under which Undavalli falls, Alla Ramakrishna Reddy has openly said that his government will evict Mr Naidu from his rented residence. He has been fighting a legal battle against the construction of buildings on the Krishna riverbed, including Mr Naidu’s residence.

He said the Naidu government had flouted all norms brazenly and built Praja Vedika on the Krishna river bed. Justifying his government’s action in holding a collectors’ conference at Praja Vedika, Mr Jagan on Monday said the meeting was held in the building to introspect on how low the system had stooped during the earlier regime.

He said it would be the last collectors’ conference at Praja Vedika and the building would be razed on Wednesday.

Listing the rules that were flouted to build Praja Vedika, Mr Reddy said, “It violated the River Conservation Act, the CRDA Master Plan, National Green Tribunal laws, building by-laws and was built despite the Lok Ayukta recommendations stating that it was illegal. At the time of construction, the executive engineer had expressed his reluctance to grant permission, explicitly mentioning that the building was lower than the flood level. The building stood at 19.5 metres whereas the flood level was at 22.5 metres. Yet the TD government went ahead with the construction,” he said.

Moreover, short tenders were called in a week’s time under the instructions of the then minister and two bidders, NCC and Ashoka Builders came forward, quoting a cost of Rs 5 crore. Ashoka Builders was eliminated and the project was given to NCC. Later, during the construction, the cost escalated to `8.5 crore.

Mr Reddy asked what the government would do if a common man indulged in such an activity. “We issue orders for punitive action and demolition. But when people in the highest levels of government flout the rules, what moral authority do they have to question others?” Mr Reddy said.