Former BJP MLA supports Visakhapatnam as executive capital of AP

Former MLA from Visakhapatnam North Penmetsa Vishnu Kumar Raju supported Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to set up the state’s executive capital in Visakhapatnam. Emphasising the point that this is his personal opinion, the former MLA said Visakhapatnam is an ideal city to set up the executive capital.

The leader said that there is no existing infrastructure in Amaravati to support building the capital city. Since the entire city needs to be built from scratch, the cost of building a world-class capital is expensive. The leader said that building an executive capital in Visakhapatnam would cost less than half of the estimate in Amaravati. He said that the state would need just Rs 1,000 crore for a total built-up space of two million square feet to establish the office. Vishnu Kumar Raju estimated that an additional Rs 1,000 crore would be required for the remaining infrastructure.

Criticizing both the previous government, the BJP leader said the previous government only showed the Amaravati farmers a dream that their lands would be put to good use. Further, he criticised the current government for demolishing the Praja Vedika. He then categorically stated that these opinions were of his own, and didn’t mirror the thoughts of his party.

Previously, both panels set up to direct the government about where the capital should be built suggested that Vizag would be an ideal choice over Amaravati. The state government has now constituted another panel of high-level officers who would go through both the reports and give their conclusive opinion, post which an announcement would be made regarding the executive capital.