Amaravati a Rs 2 lakh crore ‘debt trap’? Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu ...
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched a sweeping attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, branding the Amaravati capital project a financially unviable “debt trap” and accusing the CM of misleading the people of the state. Speaking in the strongest terms yet on the greenfield capital plan, Jagan Reddy alleged that the project is being pushed through not for public benefit but to enable alleged scams and that the promised self‑financing model has already collapsed.Amaravati: A Rs 2 lakh crore ‘debt trap’
Former Andhra CM Jagan Reddy said that the Amaravati capital city, as envisioned by the Naidu government, would require nearly Rs 2 lakh crore just to build basic infrastructure such as roads, water supply, electricity and drainage over the proposed 1 lakh acres. “Despite knowing that the Rs 2 lakh crore project cannot be implemented, Chandrababu Naidu is creating a false impression about the capital city for his scams and is cheating people,” he said.
అమరావతిలో వేసే రోడ్ల స్కాములు చూస్తే కళ్లు తిరుగుతాయి. దేశంలో వేసే హైవేలకు కి.మీకు అయ్యే ఖర్చు రూ.24కోట్లు. ఇది కేంద్ర మంత్రి నితిన్ గడ్కరీ పార్లమెంట్ లో స్పష్టం చేశారు. కానీ అమరావతిలో కి.మీ రోడ్డు వేయడానికి అయ్యే ఖర్చు రూ.53కోట్లు. అమరావతిలో సీడ్ యాక్సిస్ నుంచి నేషనల్ హైవేకి… pic.twitter.com/uBQU0CI5Si
— YSR Congress Party (@YSRCParty) May 21, 2026
Positioning Amaravati as a “debt‑driven vanity project,” Jagan Reddy claimed that the borrowing and expenditure associated with the capital had already put the state’s finances at risk. He said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)–led coalition government had borrowed Rs 47,387 crore so far towards Amaravati and had additionally earmarked Rs 9,200 crore from the state treasury. “There is no self‑financing here; everything is being funded through loans and public money,” he argued, warning that Andhra Pradesh could be pushed into a structural debt trap.
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Cost escalation and endless construction work in Amaravati
The former chief minister also targeted the spiralling cost of Amaravati’s institutional buildings, calling it a symptom of “endless corruption.” He pointed out that the Assembly, Secretariat and High Court buildings in the existing Amaravati complex were already constructed at a total cost of around Rs 1,200 crore. Yet, the Naidu government, he alleged, was now redesigning and rebuilding the same set of buildings under the label of a “Permanent Secretariat.”
రాష్ట్రంలో ప్రజలు తమ అభిప్రాయాలను స్వేచ్ఛగా చెప్పే పరిస్థితి లేదు. అమరావతి అవినీతి గురించి, హెరిటేజ్ ఇందాపూర్ సంబంధం గురించి, తిరుపతి లడ్డూ నివేదిక గురించి, చంద్రబాబు మద్యం, ఇసుక దోపిడీ గురించి ఎవరైనా సోషల్ మీడియా ప్లాట్ ఫామ్ లో ప్రశ్నిస్తుంటే, ఆ కంటెంట్ అంతా ఎవరికీ కనిపించకుండా… pic.twitter.com/LCvBe0X1rB
— YSR Congress Party (@YSRCParty) May 21, 2026
Jagan Reddy cited detailed figures to back his claim: the government is reportedly spending Rs 4,354 crore on structural work alone for the five proposed Secretariat towers, Rs 1,053 crore on drainage, water and internal infrastructure, Rs 2,316 crore on lifts, air‑conditioning, electrical and plumbing, Rs 2,540 crore on glass and mirror work, and Rs 401 crore on design. The total, he said, comes to Rs 10,665 crore for the five buildings, implying a cost of Rs 20,427 per square foot—before furniture and interiors.
“If interiors and furnishings are included, the cost per square foot could easily cross Rs 30,000–40,000,” he warned. He contrasted this with major metros, saying that even in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, five‑star‑grade buildings rarely exceed Rs 4,500 per square foot. “In Telangana, the Secretariat at Hyderabad, built over 28 acres with roughly 10 lakh square feet, cost Rs 615 crore, which is about Rs 6,000 per square foot,” he noted. “Amaravati is costing several times more; this is not construction, it is looting.”
“Rs 14,092 crore for just 7 buildings”
Extending the critique to other key structures, Jagan Reddy said that a new Assembly building with a built‑up area of 11,21,975 square feet is being pursued at an estimated cost of Rs 1,947 crore, implying about Rs 17,356 per square foot. Meanwhile, the new High Court, with 20,32,231 square feet, already has tenders in the range of Rs 1,480 crore, with the final bill likely to rise further.
“Altogether, the government is spending Rs 14,092 crore on just seven buildings- the five Secretariat towers, the new Assembly and the new High Court- before interiors are even added,” he said. For the opposition, this figure is emblematic of a capital project that is consuming disproportionate resources while ordinary infrastructure and welfare schemes struggle for funds.
Debt, not self‑financing, behind Amaravati
Jagan Reddy also hit back at the government’s claim that Amaravati is a “self‑sustaining” or “self‑financing” capital. He said that borrowings linked to the project already include roughly Rs 15,000 crore each from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Rs 11,000 crore from Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), Rs 5,000 crore from Germany’s KfW Bank, and Rs 21,000 crore raised through Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) bonds.
When combined with the Rs 9,200 crore budgeted from the state treasury, “the self‑financing model stands exposed as a lie,” he asserted. He added that the CM had even sought around Rs 77,000 crore from the Finance Commission for the existing 50,000 acres of Amaravati and was now proposing an additional 50,000 acres for expansion. If both phases go ahead, the total outlay, he said, could cross Rs 2–3 lakh crore, making Amaravati one of the most expensive capital projects in the country.
Plot allotments and favouritism allegations
The YSRCP chief also accused the Naidu government of favouring politically connected individuals and real‑estate interests in the allocation of prime plots in Amaravati. He alleged that influential figures such as film producer Ashwini Dutt and media baron Radhakrishna were being allotted “returnable plots” along main roads, while farmers who surrendered land for the capital were being pushed into low‑lying areas, ponds and water bodies.
“Ordinary farmers are being allotted plots in waterlogged zones, while the loyal and the benami get the best land,” he said. Such irregularities, he argued, reveal that the capital project has become an exercise in patronage and “political favouritism” rather than a transparent, development‑oriented plan.
Reviving MAVIGUN: A capital corridor alternative
Using Amaravati as a political backdrop, Jagan Reddy revived his proposal for a “MAVIGUN” capital corridor stretching roughly 110 km from Machilipatnam to Vijayawada (70 km) and from Vijayawada to Guntur (40 km). He highlighted that the region already has the Machilipatnam port project underway, Vijayawada International Airport, multiple railway stations, national highways, nine medical colleges, universities and several other educational institutions and a population of around 35–40 lakh.
“Whereas in Amaravati, everything has to begin from zero,” he said. By utilising the existing infrastructure of MAVIGUN, he argued, the state could operationalise a capital‑region model from day one with relatively limited additional investment focused on connectivity and capacity expansion. This, he claimed, would avoid the mammoth borrowing, land‑question and construction‑cost spiral associated with Amaravati.
Governance, welfare and “Mafia Kingdom” charge
Beyond the capital debate, Jagan Mohan Reddy broadened his attack to general governance performance. He alleged that the last two years of Naidu’s rule had been marked by “authoritarianism, fabricated cases, political vendetta and the suppression of democratic voices.” Labelling the state a “mafia kingdom and jungle raj,” he said that rampant corruption and “loot” had gone hand in hand with the neglect of everyday public welfare.
The former chief minister accused the government of reneging on major pre‑poll promises, including the “Super Six,” “Super Seven” and 143‑point agenda, and said that people had seen little tangible benefit. On fuel prices, he said that petrol and diesel had become more expensive despite election‑time announcements of reduction, and that artificial shortages had been created for profiteering.
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He also alleged that the state government owed government employees about Rs 35,000 crore in pending dues, including dearness allowances (DA), recommendations of the Pay Revision Commission, retirement benefits, medical reimbursements and surrender‑leave payments. Welfare schemes meant for women, unemployed youth, SCs, STs, BCs and minorities, he claimed, had been diluted or shelved, while plans to curtail free bus travel for women and move towards RTC privatisation were likely to hit ordinary families and employees hardest.
Reciprocal invective: TDP brands Jagan Reddy a “wonderful actor”, “cancer” of Rayalaseema
The sharp attack from Jagan Reddy has triggered an equally aggressive response from the TDP. A party statement, interpreted as a reply to YSRCP’s narrative, said: “Wonderful actor Jagan Reddy. If he had acted in films, he’d win an Oscar. For the sake of property, he drove out his own mother and sister. He killed another sister’s father‑in‑law and committed injustice. He deceived the people of his own district. He woke up his own father and pinned the lie on us.”
Party leaders invoked his early family feud and other controversies to cast him as a “performer” rather than a principled leader and to suggest that the YSRCP’s legitimacy was built on internal betrayal and deception.
జగన్కు చీటింగ్ బుక్ ఆఫ్ వరల్డ్ రికార్డు ఇవ్వొచ్చు..
తల్లి, చెల్లిని తరిమేశాడు.. బాబాయిని లేపేసి మరో చెల్లి కుటుంబానికి అన్యాయం చేసిన వ్యక్తి.. సొంత జిల్లాను, సొంత నియోజకవర్గాన్ని కూడా మోసం చేసిన వ్యక్తి.. #LokeshWithCadre#NaraLokesh#AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/fmRtEQc8Ow
— Telugu Desam Party (@JaiTDP) May 22, 2026
Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh, meanwhile, framed Jagan Reddy’s tenure as a governance failure that continues to haunt the state. “Jagan Reddy’s sins are still haunting him. Due to the PPAs cancelled during the previous government, projects are hesitating to set up here. We brought this investment by giving assurances. That’s why government continuity is necessary,” he said.
Lokesh also adopted a regional tone, calling Jagan Mahan Reddy “the cancer that has gripped Rayalaseema.” He said, “They apply mud on the outside, but wage a fierce war of deceit inside. Will Jagan’s maternal uncle, a big‑time real estate businessman, eliminate the major troublemaker and then threaten to file cases against us? We weren’t afraid even in the opposition. Are we going to be afraid of cases now?”
The TDP’s remarks tie the YSR family tightly to large‑scale real‑estate interests and suggest that legal action and public‑relations campaigns are being weaponised to distract from the capital‑cost and borrowing debate.
Amaravati drive could push Andhra Pradesh into ‘backward direction’
Political analyst Kamlesh Gutala contrasted the governance models of Jagan Mohan Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu, describing their approaches as fundamentally different. “It is basically a fight between a practical model and a projection model,” he said.
Gutala pointed to data suggesting that the population of the MACHILIPATNAM–Vijayawada–GUNTUR (MAVIGUN) corridor is now around 75–80 lakh, roughly one‑sixth of Andhra Pradesh’s total, with significant infrastructure already in place. Despite this, he argued, CM Naidu’s focus on Amaravati as the capital risks pushing the state backward by centralising instead of decentralising growth.
“Chandrababu Naidu is focusing on Amaravati, but at this point of time Andhra Pradesh needs a decentralised model,” Gutala added. “The projection that anything will be ready only by 2047–2050 will take Andhra in a backward direction rather than propelling it forward.”
Amaravati ‘self‑financing’ claim lacks evidence: Rayalaseema Forum Convenor
Rayalaseema Intellectuals Forum convenor M Purushottam Reddy sharply criticised the Andhra Pradesh government’s portrayal of the Amaravati capital project as a ‘self‑financing’ or self‑sustaining capital. “So far there is no evidence to support the government’s claim that the Amaravati capital project will finance its own construction costs,” he said.
Reddy pointed out that, despite nearly Rs 10,000 crore already being spent, loans and committed borrowings for Amaravati have now reached a staggering Rs 47,387 crore. In addition, the government has indicated another Rs 9,200 crore to be drawn from the state treasury. “Altogether, the government has effectively decided to spend more than Rs 60,000 crore on Amaravati so far,” he added.
He argued that Amaravati capital city is not a revenue‑generating asset, and questioned how the project can still be described as “self‑sustaining” when not a single rupee of the expenditure incurred so far has come from revenue generated by the capital itself. “Neither the Assembly, nor the Secretariat, nor the High Court, nor any government office generates income. They only create expenditure,” he said.
Reddy also took issue with the government’s spending pattern, calling it “extravagant and wasteful.” He cited the practice of floating multiple categories of tenders for the construction of the same office complexes, suggesting that the government was trying to create an impression of cost reduction by splitting work into different packages, while the total overall expenditure continued to mount.
The convenor further criticised the “obsession with iconic constructions” without considering the actual financial condition of Andhra Pradesh. Quoting the final letter of the Sivaramakrishnan Committee to then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, he said the idea of constructing a giant metropolitan capital reflected “monarchical tendencies” rather than democratic governance. The committee, Reddy reminded, had stressed that in a democracy people’s needs and regional balance must take priority, and warned that disproportionately diverting the state’s resources toward a single capital project could prove economically self‑destructive for Andhra Pradesh.
Opposition convergence: YSRCP backs “Debt‑Trap” label
YSRCP leaders have rallied behind Jagan Reddy’s critique, with party functionary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy branding Amaravati a “debt trap” that will burden future generations. Another YSRCP MP, YV Subba Reddy, said that the greenfield capital would require “more than Rs 2 lakh crore” to be fully functional, lending statistical weight to the party’s narrative.
Together, the YSRCP’s broadside against Amaravati, and the TDP’s equally personalised counter‑charge, have turned the capital project into the central axis of the next political battle in Andhra Pradesh, where both sides seek to frame the other as either fiscally reckless or morally bankrupt, whichever serves the narrative best.
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