The TDP Government cabinet has approved lump sum contracts worth ₹2,540 crore for renting government buildings in Amaravati, covering secretariat offices, court buildings, guest houses, storage facilities, and administrative blocks. Additionally, another ₹798 crore has been approved for spire construction, parking ring roads, and approach bridges to the Assembly building.
In total, over ₹3,338 crore of public money is being committed not for permanent construction, but largely for rental arrangements and peripheral infrastructure, while core capital city development remains incomplete.
The YSRCP government of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy spent ₹3,898 crore on Amaravati capital construction over its five-year tenure. But now, the Chandrababu government is spending ₹2,540 crore on rentals alone not construction, not permanent assets, not infrastructure that will outlast a lease agreement, but on renting temporary accommodation for government offices and this is being presented to the public as accelerated capital development.
The Lump Sum Contract
The cabinet’s approval of lump sum contracts rather than transparent tendering processes has raised serious concerns. Officials are pointing out that these arrangements, worth hundreds of crores, are being processed without competitive bidding in the conventional sense, raising questions about who benefits from these rental agreements and at what rates.
The buildings being rented include the integrated Andhra Pradesh secretariat, collectorate offices, gas godown, court buildings, BDA offices, and storage facilities a comprehensive package of government accommodation being outsourced to private landlords at public expense.
The Detailed Breakdown of Approvals
The cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu approved the following:
Amaravati Building Rentals — ₹2,540 crore:
- Integrated AP secretariat, collectorate buildings, court complexes, guest houses, and administrative offices across multiple mandals
- Land pooling scheme compensation payments of ₹580 crore to farmers
- ₹1,082 crore for various infrastructure components
- ₹1,180 crore for additional facilities
Assembly Building Peripherals — ₹798 crore:
- Spire construction, parking ring road, roof and approach bridge (rides over land civil sector) — ₹798 crore lump sum contract approval
Other Cabinet Decisions:
- Lands in Vijayawada and Vijayawada mandals — 1.50 acres; Krishna district Gudivada mandal — 2 acres; Godavari district Ramaachandrapuram — various acres; Parvatipuram district — 1.61 acres — allotted for TDP district party offices at 33 locations across six districts, with government lands worth crores being transferred to a political party
- Amaravati smart city road construction: ₹149.82 crore, ₹146.47 crore, ₹146.97 crore approved for multiple contractors
- Total road construction contract value: ₹1,904.89 crore
- Polavaram project: Zone-11 construction contract approved
- Rajahmundry Green and Infrastructure Corporation Limited (GICL) — contracts approved
- Land pooling scheme: ₹1,082 crore payment approved for farmers; ₹1,180 crore for additional components
- Amaravati custom cattle slaughter road construction: ₹1,208 crore two-tower construction approved
- 11,536 acres of land — PSC house construction: ₹124.50 crore approved; National Drilling Construction Corporation Limited (NDCCL) appointed
- Srikakulam district — three PSC piling works approved; Parvathipuram Manyam district — ₹309 crore construction approved
- Polavaram construction: ₹1,586.69 crore approved
- Srungavarapukota Branch Canal — 26 kilometres, 75 feet — approved; Andhra Pradesh Disaster estimated ₹309 crore
The Political Land Grab
One of the most controversial decisions buried within the cabinet approvals deserves separate attention: the allotment of government lands across 33 locations in six districts for TDP party offices.
Government land public property is being transferred for the use of a political party. The YSRCP has pointed out that during the Jagan government, land given to the poor was cancelled by the current government through CRDA. Now the same government is allotting government lands in six districts to its own party offices, while simultaneously cancelling welfare assets meant for the poor.
To complete new government medical college, only ₹1000 crores is needed per year. The government that cannot find money to finish a medical colleges that will train doctors and serve patients for decades has found ₹2,540 crore to rent offices. This is not a resource constraint. It is a choice and it is a choice that reveals, with clinical precision, where this government’s priorities lie.
