Visakhapatnam: Former minister Gudivada Amarnath on Monday said there was no controversy surrounding the Rushikonda buildings complex, but demanded that illegally occupied land of Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) be brought to light.
“Bheemili MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao should show GITAM land encroachment to the people,” Amarnath said,
TD's Srinivas Rao and some Jana Sena leaders took media personnel for a tour of the building complex in Rushikonda on Sunday.
Srinivasa Rao noted that the buildings were constructed in a lavish manner by the YSRC government without giving details of the plan to the public. Also barricades had been put up to restrict entry.
In response, Amarnath on Monday said the current TD government now must think of ways to use the Rushikonda buildings for tourism.
"Even today, if the President, Governor, and other dignitaries visit Visakhapatnam, they stay in private hotels. It is best to use Rushikonda buildings for the stay of prominent figures in the country and those coming from abroad," he added.
After Visakhapatnam was announced as the executive capital, a three-man committee with IAS officers was formed for the construction of Rushikonda buildings, he said, adding Rushikonda buildings were built only after the committee gave a green signal.
Amarnath recalled that Ganta Srinivasa Rao had welcomed the decision. "While N. Chandrababu Naidu constructed temporary buildings in Amaravati during his tenure (2015-19), Y.S. Jagan constructed permanent buildings at Rushikonda," Amarnath asserted.
During the previous TD government, even if something was to be developed, the development work was done by clearing the hills, he said.
He said the temporary buildings in Amaravati cost crores of rupees.
