What Ponguru Narayana has announced today is shocking the entire state. It is a direct assault on public money.
Declaring a Rs 1750 crore statue of N T Rama Rao at Amaravati’s Neerukonda region, with a height of 182 meters, elevators up to 160 meters, and layers of imported bronze, is nothing but political vanity dressed up as development.
Let us be brutally honest. Andhra Pradesh is struggling to breathe. Roads are broken, urban infrastructure is patchy, rural regions are neglected, and the state is sinking under debt. In this situation, announcing a Rs 1750 crore statue is not ambition. It is administrative arrogance.
The hypocrisy is staggering. The same political ecosystem that cries endlessly about the Rushikonda Palace costing around Rs 500 crore as a “gross waste of public money” now expects citizens to quietly accept a project that costs more than three times that amount. If Rs 500 crore was waste for a usable building, what is Rs 1750 crore invested on a statue?
- When the state government says there is no money to build medical colleges, how does Rs 1750 crore suddenly become available for a statue?
- When projects in the drought and famine-hit Rayalaseema are stalled citing lack of funds, why does money magically appear for a monument?
- When Amaravati itself remains incomplete and directionless, what sense does it make to erect a gigantic statue in a capital that is still struggling to exist in reality?
This is not about disrespecting NTR. This is about using his legacy as a shield to justify reckless spending. NTR was known for speaking about the poor, dignity, and welfare. Turning his memory into a Rs 1750 crore tourism spectacle while denying basic services to citizens is a moral contradiction of the highest order.
Equally disturbing is the silence of the so-called intellectual class. Why do people like Jayaprakash Narayan, who frequently speak about governance, reform and public accountability, not question this openly? Silence here is not neutrality. It is cowardice. When influential voices refuse to call out obvious misuse of public funds, they indirectly legitimize it.
Let it be said clearly. Not questioning this decision is the same as supporting it. And supporting it means accepting that Andhra Pradesh can be driven deeper into debt for political symbolism. A poor and indebted state does not need a taller statue. It needs functioning hospitals, reliable roads, drinking water, jobs and long-term economic planning.
The Rs 1750 crore NTR statue proposal is not just unreasonable. It is obscene. It represents misplaced priorities, political narcissism and a complete disconnect from ground realities. If this is allowed to pass without resistance, it will stand not as a symbol of pride, but as a monument to governance failure and public betrayal.
Kiran Sharma