Release of Rs 73L to spruce up Jagan’s house draws flak

A recent government order (GO RT 259) releasing Rs 73 lakh for fixing aluminium windows and doors to the official residence of Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy drew the criticism of the Opposition and citizens alike. The highly secured house of the chief minister in Tadepally in Guntur district was inaugurated on February 27 this year.

Y S Jaganmohan Reddy who was sworn in on May 30, stays at the Tadepally home along with his family. During the past six months, there were several modifications done to the residence of the chief minister, a few of them based on security advice and a few based on convenience, all paid from the state exchequer. The state roads and buildings department released Rs 73 lakh on October 15 for installation of window, doors and other items for the CM’s residence and the office block.

Many netizens felt that the CM should have gone for a new house rather than spending Rs 73 lakh just on windows. They argued that a window won't cost much and the release of a huge amount for a house that is complete in all aspects is a waste of public money.

Former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted that it was "one super-expensive step at the expense of state exchequer", adding that the move came at a time when "AP is grappling with a fiscal mess caused by mismanagement in the last five months."

Earlier, the government sanctioned Rs 1.89 crores for a helipad and other amenities at the CM’s residence on June 26, a through GO number 133. On June 25, another Rs 5 crore was sanctioned for widening and strengthening of Revendrapadu-Seethanagaram Road that leads to CM’s Tadepally residence.

However, the YSRCP has reminded Naidu that he had spent Rs 80 crore on refurbishing his offices in the Hyderabad secretariat by frequently changing them. Naidu operated from the Dilkhusha guesthouse on the Rajbhavan Road when the state got bifurcated. Later he shifted to the state secretariat shared with Telangana, where he shifted two offices in a row which were fully furnished and spruced up for Naidu. However, the capital shifted to Amaravati leaving all that in Hyderabad. The present Rajbhavan in Vijayawada was actually the CMO when the capital shifted from Hyderabad to Amaravati.