Govt. considering multiple options to put Rushikonda buildings to use

Ministers Payyavula Keshav, Kandula Durgesh and DBV Swamy said on Tuesday that the Andhra Pradesh government is considering various options to utilize the luxury buildings built on Rushikonda during the YSRCP era to benefit the public and at the same time generate sustainable revenue for the Tourism Department.

The ministers were speaking after the second meeting of the sub-committee formed to examine the future use of buildings constructed under the previous dispensation, which were allegedly used as the official residence of then Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Special Principal Secretary Tourism Ajay Jain, MD Tourism and CEO APTA Amrapali Kata and senior officials attended the meeting. The committee reviewed feedback from the public and stakeholders collected through the Ministry of Tourism’s website.

Officials informed the Ministers that 1,517 members of the public and 44 stakeholders shared their opinions. The majority called on the government to quickly correct what they described as mistakes of the previous regime and ensure that the asset is made available for public use. Suggestions included turning the “palace” into a hotel or resort, museum, art gallery, wellness centre, MICE facility, science planetarium and even government offices.

Ministers criticized the previous government for replacing income-generating resorts with a palace-like structure spread over around 20,000 square metres, leading to a monthly maintenance burden of ₹ 25 lakh to ₹ 30 lakh. They said that besides institutions such as Tata, IHCL and Atmosfer Core, some foreign companies also submitted offers.

The sub-committee said another meeting will be held soon after which two or three options will be presented to the Cabinet for final decision in consultation with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.