Even a decade after Chandrababu Naidu started the Amaravati capital construction works, not a single permanent building has been completed there to date. During his 2014-19 rule, Chandrababu wasted thousands of crores in the name of temporary buildings. Now, in the name of permanent buildings, endless corruption is taking place in Amaravati. Chandrababu selected the Amaravati region as the capital despite the Sivaramakrishnan Committee’s recommendations. He wasted crores of rupees on designs. He violated the law while acquiring the assigned lands for the capital. In the past, he finalised Rs. 48,000 crore worth of contracts, but between 2014-19, he executed only Rs. 5,587.28 crore worth of works. Why didn’t Babu execute more work than that? By borrowing thousands of crores at high interest rates for Amaravati, he is imposing a burden on future generations that they cannot bear. He is cheating the farmers who gave their lands by delaying the allotment of returnable plots and now giving them plots in ponds and ditches. Hundreds of farmers queue every day at the CRDA office seeking justice over the injustice done to them regarding plots. The people and the opposition are not opposing Amaravati being made the capital… they are only opposing the corruption scams happening in the name of capital construction. Here are the facts and figures related to Amaravati construction…
Corruption in the Name of Amaravati
The proverb “Aadaleka Maddela Oodu” (unable to play, the drum is broken) perfectly fits the Amaravati issue. In 2014, Chandrababu decided to build the capital at Amaravati. He collected 50,000 acres of land. Saying that was not enough, he is now collecting another 20,000 acres. In the Amaravati capital construction works, which were taken up with thousands of crores of public money, massive corruption is taking place. Estimates are being inflated recklessly and contracts are being awarded to their own people, from which they are taking commissions.
Loot in the name of Permanent Buildings
Chandrababu’s government, which already wasted hundreds of crores in the name of temporary buildings, has now opened the floodgates of massive loot in the name of permanent constructions. Such corruption is unheard of anywhere else in the world. Babu, who promoted Amaravati as a self-financed project, is now saying there is no money for welfare schemes, yet in just 15 months since coming to power, his government has imposed a debt burden of Rs. 2 lakh crore on the people. Thousands of crores in loans are being taken. When we examine the inflated estimates for permanent buildings, work package allocations, and mobilisation advances by the coalition government, it becomes clear how much loot is happening in the name of Amaravati. Intellectuals and economic experts opine that injustice is being done to both farmers and the state in the name of capital construction.
Corruption started from the Selection of the Capital Region Itself
What should have been a well-intentioned project for the people of the state was corrupted from the beginning by their own schemes. They propagated through their yellow media that the capital would be built here or there. After everyone bought land in various places, key figures in the then-Telugu Desam government and their insiders were secretly informed about the final location. They had the land purchased through these individuals. Now, that land has multiplied in value by over 100 times. The profits are being reaped by others, not the local farmers, and the public is witnessing this.
100% estimate hike for the Secretariat construction
This time, Chandrababu’s coalition government has increased estimates by 75% and taken them to Rs. 77,500 crore purely for commissions in the name of Amaravati. Tenders were called for secretariat construction at Rs. 4,689 crore. The same secretariat had tenders called in 2018 for only Rs. 2,271 crore. At that time, earthwork and pillars were also completed. They called re-tenders for the same works and increased estimates by 100%, taking them to Rs. 4,689 crore.
High Court building construction cost reaches Rs. 1,480.69 Crore
The High Court building is being constructed in AGC ‘F’ Block on 42.36 acres with basement + ground + 7 floors, spanning 20,32,231 sq.ft. Foster + Partners designed this building.
Tenders were called on 1 March last year for Rs. 752.06 crore on a lumpsum basis to be completed in 24 months and maintained for another three years. NCC Ltd bagged the tender at 4.52% excess (Rs. 786.05 crore). They agreed to pay an additional Rs. 138.64 crore towards GST, NACC, sewerage etc. That means the contract value for the permanent High Court building is Rs. 924.69 crore. Recently, the government sanctioned Rs. 556 crore for these works. With this, the High Court building construction cost has reached Rs. 1,480.69 crore.
Assembly Permanent building construction Cost reaches Rs. 1,149.36 Crore
Assembly building cost per sq.ft. reaches Rs. 10,244.07
The Assembly building is being constructed in AGC ‘E’ Block with basement + ground + 3 floors, spanning 11,21,975 sq.ft. Foster + Partners also designed this building. Tenders were called on 1 March last year for Rs. 590.86 crore on a lump sum basis to be completed in 24 months and maintained for another three years. L&T Ltd bagged the tender at 4.48% excess (Rs. 617.33 crore). They agreed to pay additional Rs. 107.69 crore towards taxes. That means the contract value for the permanent Assembly building is Rs. 725.02 crore. Recently, the government sanctioned Rs. 424.34 crore for these works. With this, the Assembly building construction cost has reached Rs. 1,149.36 crore. The Assembly building construction cost per sq. ft. has reached Rs. 10,244.07.
Isn’t this extravagance?
In the past, the temporary Assembly building was constructed for Rs. 180 crore and the temporary High Court for Rs. 173 crore. What is their condition now? In those days itself, they spent Rs. 11,000 per sq.ft., which is unheard of anywhere in the country. Isn’t this all extravagance? If Parliament was built for Rs. 770 crore, they are building the AP Assembly for almost the same cost.
They are building the AP High Court bigger than the Supreme Court! Building a High Court bigger than the Supreme Court and an Assembly bigger than Parliament is increasing the construction cost. Experts say this is all wasteful expenditure and squandering of borrowed funds. Do we really need to build such huge buildings at such enormous cost? Intellectuals are questioning whether there is any sense in this.
Corruption in Amaravati is visible to the Naked Eye
The chief leader’s corruption master plan is now clearly visible in the Amaravati construction works. In the Amaravati region, they have set up a syndicate with contractors and are awarding capital construction works at exorbitant rates. Recently, in the tenders worth Rs. 10,696.79 crore for 37 packages for flood mitigation and remaining road works, the Amaravati Development Corporation Limited (ADCL) exposed the syndicate’s manipulation. For 22 packages worth Rs. 16,463.83 crore, including layout development for plots to farmers who gave land, MLA/MLC quarters, and bungalows for ministers, judges, and IAS officers, the CRDA revealed the greed of government bigwigs. Together, ADCL and CRDA called tenders for 59 packages worth Rs. 27,160.62 crore, which were distributed among eight syndicate contract companies at Rs. 28,209.62 crore, 3.94% to 4.34% above the base value, imposing an additional Rs. 1,049 crore burden on the treasury. Had the reverse tendering system been in place, competition among contractors would have reduced costs by at least 8%, saving Rs. 2,500-3,000 crore for the treasury, as official sources clarify. The construction of ministers’ and judges’ houses costs over Rs. 10,000 per square foot. For the Happy Nest venture, they are spending an additional Rs. 818 crore on top of previous expenditures, where the cost per square foot is Rs. 4,500. Adding Rs. 3,000 could provide five-star luxury facilities. Isn’t this loot? For flood mitigation and road construction in the capital, tenders worth approximately Rs. 10,700 crore were called, with works awarded to Chandrababu’s close associate BSRS Infra and RVR Projects, linked to Eenadu MD Kiran. Despite claiming no flooding in the capital region, they are installing five lifts at a cost of Rs. 1,404 crore. They also plan to build six more reservoirs. Isn’t this loot?
Rs. 64.01 Crore per Kilometre Expenditure
The ADCL is recklessly inflating the estimated costs of construction works in the capital. For the remaining works on the N-12 road, ADCL set a rate of Rs. 53.88 crore per kilometre and awarded it to contractors. Now, for extending the E-13 road to NH-16, it has fixed a contract value of Rs. 64.01 crore per kilometre, with a tender notification issued on 7 April 2025. NHAI builds other six-lane roads across the country, including all taxes, at Rs. 20 crore per kilometre. However, in the state, ADCL officials are artificially inflating cost estimates to favour the syndicate contractors set up by the chief leader, according to experts.
Why 20,000 Acres of Land Pooling?
During the YSRCP regime, the Gannavaram airport was upgraded with a new runway and terminal to become an international airport. Now, the chief leader claims he will build another airport on 5,000 acres in Amaravati. Leaving the 34,000 acres already taken from farmers undeveloped, he is now determined to acquire over 20,000 more acres through land pooling.
Even though there is a flood risk in Amaravati…
Even before lending, the World Bank and IIT Chennai warned that Amaravati is a flood-prone area and that building a capital there would require massive expenditure. Yet Chandrababu remains unconcerned. He plans to spend Rs. 1,400 crore on four lift irrigation schemes and six reservoirs for flood mitigation.
All Debt… then Extravagance…
Chandrababu’s government already spent hundreds of crores on temporary Assembly and High Court buildings. Now, by taking up permanent building construction, the money spent on temporary buildings has become a total waste. That too was borrowed money. The permanent Assembly and High Court buildings are also being built with borrowed funds. Because they are building them much larger than necessary, the construction cost is increasing. In Velagapudi in 2015, the temporary Secretariat construction was awarded to Shapoorji Pallonji and L&T at Rs. 3,350 per sq.ft. for Rs. 201 crore. But by the time construction was completed, the estimate had reached Rs. 1,151 crore. That means they paid bills at Rs. 19,183 per sq.ft. Experts say that by the time the permanent Assembly and High Court buildings are completed, the construction cost will be even higher. They remind us that even in metros like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, five-star buildings with Italian marble do not cost more than Rs. 4,000 per sq.ft.
CAG Faulted in the Past
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report warned that the Amaravati capital project would impose an unbearable financial burden on the state, both immediately and in the future. The main reason is that the previous government chose the greenfield Amaravati region against the recommendations of the expert committee, ignoring government lands that were available in large quantities. The CAG submitted its audit report, which the state government tabled in the Assembly on Monday. In it, the CAG severely criticised the policies followed by the TDP government and the land acquisition process.
The CAG conducted three audits on the Amaravati capital development projects. It pointed out that the previous government did not disclose the key limitations considered while selecting Amaravati as a greenfield capital nor the feasibility study details to assess the actual land requirement for capital city development. The CAG said the overall project plan for capital city development lacked completeness.
Everything Incomplete
The CAG conducted three audits on the Amaravati capital development projects. It pointed out that the previous government did not disclose the key limitations considered while selecting Amaravati as a greenfield capital nor the feasibility study details to assess the actual land requirement for capital city development. The CAG said the overall project plan for capital city development lacked completeness.
Assigned Land Scam
During the TDP government’s rule, Chandrababu’s land greed turned assigned lands of weaker sections into fuel. Government lands also disappeared. They ended up in the hands of Chandrababu, Narayana, their benamis, and close associates. A shocking fact is that approximately Rs. 5,000 crore worth of lands (Rs. 4,239.75 crore worth of 1,072 acres under land pooling package + Rs. 760.25 crore worth of 328 acres of government lands) in Amaravati were grabbed by Chandrababu, Narayana, and their benamis. The CID’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigation brought this land loot to light with evidence. A case was registered and investigation started. In 2014, as soon as the TDP government came to power, Chandrababu drew up a big land-loot plan in the name of capital. For this, G.O. No.1 was issued on 1 January 2015 announcing the land pooling package. In it, the land pooling package was announced only for private lands in Amaravati. No package was announced for assigned lands. Later, Chandrababu and Narayana sent their benamis and agents into Amaravati villages and scared SC, ST, BC, and poor farmers by saying the government would take assigned lands without any package. Extremely worried, they sold their assigned lands to Chandrababu, Narayana, and other TDP leaders’ benamis at very low prices (Rs. 2-5 lakh per acre) through sale deeds. After the lands came into their hands, they issued G.O. No.41 on 17 February 2016 dividing the assigned lands into six categories and announcing the land pooling package. Ignoring objections from senior officials and without even Cabinet approval, they brought this G.O. Not only that, they even cheated the court and executed their plan.
