The cost of constructing the Amaravati capital city project has increased by 45% due to a five-year delay, attributed to the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government, which abandoned the project and proposed a three-capital city model.
State Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Narayana informed reporters after the 42nd CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) meeting, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, that the financial burden resulted from Jagan's decision to halt ongoing projects in Amaravati soon after taking office in May 2019.
According to Narayana, the halted construction, which had been progressing rapidly, caused costs to escalate significantly.
"Farmers voluntarily contributed 33,000 acres of land for the capital in just 58 days. However, Jagan’s three-capitals strategy disrupted Amaravati's progress, leading to a steep rise in construction costs," he stated.
Narayana detailed the financial impact of the delays: road construction costs rose by 25-28%, building costs increased by 35-55%, gravel prices for layouts climbed by 6%, schedule of rates surged by 29%, GST increased by 6%, and other miscellaneous costs grew by 1.6%.
"If the work had continued uninterrupted over the past five years, these additional costs could have been avoided. Nonetheless, as per the Chief Minister's directives, we are committed to completing Amaravati's construction within three years," Narayana assured.
Thus far, the state government has sanctioned development projects worth â¹20,285 crore for Amaravati.
On Tuesday, orders were issued for the release of â¹11,467.27 crore for various works, with an additional â¹8,821.44 crore worth of projects approved during the CRDA meeting.
Narayana also confirmed that the tendering process for these projects would be completed by the end of December, with tenders for interior works expected to be issued next month.