Hyderabad: Unveiling 'Vision Visakha' -- a comprehensive plan for the next five years to develop Visakhapatnam over the next decade into a megacity on the East coast -- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said Visakhapatnam city needs to be developed as the growth engine that would contribute to all round prosperity of the state in the coming years.
The Andhra Chief Minister took centre stage at the 'Development Dialogue' in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, where he unveiled ‘Vision Visakha’ to make Vizag not only the "most sought-after investment destination" but also one of the 'best liveable cities in the world".
He also proposed investment to the tune of Rs 1,05,000 crore over the next 10 years to enhance the robustness of connectivity, physical and social infrastructure, industry landscape, and sustainability.
Reaffirming his commitment to make Visakhapatnam the Administrative Capital, Jagan said, "Opposition parties and groups, along with their friendly media, are opposing the idea of Visakhapatnam as the executive capital city for the simple reason that they have their interests elsewhere."
Stating that he is not against Amaravati to be developed as the Capital city, he said, "We need to spend around Rs.1 lakh crore over a period of 20 years pumping in Rs 5000 crore every year to build up the Capital-necessitated infrastructure in around 50,000 acres of virgin land."
"Who knows, the estimates may go up and we may require spending around Rs. 5 or 10 lakh crore to construct our Capital at Amaravati over a period of time," he added.
"Neglecting these facts, opposition media is shamelessly making a hue and cry indulging in land grabbing allegations against us," he said, adding that they don’t want the Chief Minister to sit here as their interests lie in Amaravati.
He further said that after the elections, his swearing in ceremony as the Chief Minister would take place in Visakhapatnam.
Giving the example of Hyderabad which has nearly 90 per cent of the PSUs, Jagan said, "Our State can’t grow unless and until we have a similar growth engine city."
"Vizag has perfect potential to become our growth engine for Andhra Pradesh, he said, adding it would become another city like Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in another 10 years or so," he added.
'Vision Visakha' is a plan to "land grab" in disguise by Jagan: TDP
Meanwhile, the opposition TDP termed 'Vision Visakha' as a plan of "land grabbing" in disguise by Jagan and his associates.
"This is the same promise Jagan made during Udagi, during Dusshera, during Deewali, and during Sankranti, and now he is saying it is going to happen after elections," TDP National Spokesperson Prof Jyothsna Tirunagari said.
She said that the fundamental question that concerns the state of Andhra Pradesh is the security of the people of Vizag called out "Jagan's incompetence" in providing safety to the people.
"If Jagan can't even ensure the safety of his own MP's family in Visakhapatnam, how can he protect the people of Andhra Pradesh," she asked the leader.
She further highlighted that Visakhapatnam which was once a peaceful place, has plunged into utter lawlessness under Jagan 's governance.
"At a time when every rupee should be accounted towards the welfare and development of our people, the YSRCP government has chosen to spend Rs. 433 crores on a luxurious building for the chief minister at Rushikonda damaging the scenic beauty of the place," Prof Jyothsna said.