The newly elected Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy has passed demolition orders for Praja Vedika, a sprawling conference hall built by former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu at Vundvalli in Amravati. According to the new AP government, Naidu’s Praja Vedika flouts environmental laws.
CM Reddy on Monday declared all the buildings that came up on the banks of Krishna river were illegal and unauthorised constructions. He said these would be demolished one after the other starting Wednesday. This means Chandrababu Naidu’s palatial riverside residential house also may be demolished. Earlier YSRC MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy had said that Naidu will be evicted from his house as it was built illegally on riverbed. The house is owned by an industrialist from whom the previous AP government had leased it to use as CM’s residence till the official residences are built in Amaravati.
Praja Vedika, the conference hall next to Chandrababu Naidu’s house was being used by his party for government and party activities. Yesterday, ignoring Naidu’s plea for declaring the public property as his “residence annex,” the YSRCP government took possession of Praja Vedika. Also, all belongings of Naidu were reportedly thrown out by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Development Authority (APCRDA) and the premise was locked.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) termed this move as “vendetta politics” and alleged the state government showed no courtesy to the former CM as his belongings were thrown out of the building.
However, Reddy held his government’s first Collector’s Conference in the Praja Vedika hall and took the demolition decision of the building from within the building itself. “Praja Vedika is an illegal structure. It is constructed violating rules. A person of the stature of a Chief Minister had allowed construction of this building. If a CM himself violates rules, imagine the corruption prevailing down the administration?” he said.
Reddy added that he held the first Collector’s Conference from the Praja Vedika just to showcase how corruption is prevailing in the state. “This is the last meeting in this building. After Tuesday’s meeting with police officials including Director General of Police (DGP) and others, this building will be demolished. I order officials to demolish the building the very next day of the end of this meeting,” he said.
Moreover, a scuffle between the two parties also broke out at the council meeting of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation yesterday after portraits of TDP leaders N T Rama Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu were replaced with that of present CM and Chief of YSR Congress Party Y S Jaganmohan Reddy at the council hall.
