Is that minister in Andhra Pradesh indulging in corruption in a manner never seen before in the past? Has this matter now reached Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu… and is that the reason why he is reportedly flaring up whenever that minister’s name is mentioned? The discussion in official and political circles in Andhra Pradesh suggests that the answer is yes. It is being said that earlier, that minister used to carry out exactly what Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu instructed, but this time, contrary to that, there is wide publicity that he has opened a large-scale “shop of his own.” As a result, criticisms are now being heard that the CRDA related to the capital Amaravati has become a hub of corruption. It is being said that a key engineer in the CRDA listens only to that minister and has become the ringmaster of all the dealings.
On one hand, there were already large-scale allegations in the past that at the level of top government leadership itself, decisions were fixed in advance in Amaravati regarding who should be given which works and at what cost. There are also allegations that works worth thousands of crores in the capital Amaravati were awarded only to selected companies, and that everyone took their respective shares. As if that were not enough, with the minister now allegedly running his own corruption racket, it has triggered a major uproar. It is being said that the minister is now running all affairs only through his own team, and that he has even put in place a separate system for this purpose. There is also talk in official circles that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is planning corrective measures in the coming days regarding this. However, some are expressing doubts about how far this will be implemented, given the closeness between the two.
Officials say that the CRDA building works in the capital are themselves a direct example of corruption. They comment that if an inquiry is conducted in the coming days, the scale of the scam involved will come to light. It is being alleged that although this building was more than half completed in the first term itself, the estimates were hugely increased and large-scale looting was carried out. While there are allegations that estimates for capital-related works were arbitrarily inflated in advance, as if that were not enough, in the case of certain works in Amaravati—especially electrical works—permissions were granted at very high prices in violation of rules. Through this, the government violated its own issued orders. Another crucial point here is that the Chandrababu government is using the cabinet, which is supposed to take policy decisions, to approve irregularities and to take decisions that benefit contractors and corporate companies, a senior minister commented.