CRZ curbs on monetisation of Rushikonda buildings, vacant land delays monetisation

Visakhapatnam: The attempts by Andhra Pradesh Government to use lavish structures and surrounding vacant land of nearly nine acres for high-end tourism promotion by giving it for development to a premium hospitality firm may not be an easy task due to restrictions on construction in areas classified as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).

As the vacant land overlooking the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal falls in the CRZ area, it will be difficult to undertake constructions. During the YSRCP regime, the construction of opulent buildings with super luxury interiors also faced several objections in the courts as well as the National Green Tribunal.

The buildings built at an estimated cost of Rs500 crore were allegedly meant for housing the Chief Minister's Camp Office as part of making Visakhapatnam the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh by the YSRCP when it was in power, according to TDP State president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao.

After receiving proposals for redeveloping the Rushikonda buildings into a luxury hotel or tourism destination with fresh investment and required changes by leading hospitality groups like TajTand The Leela Group and Atmosphere Core and the government is now faced with the Herculean task of how to make use of the vacant land adhering to the CRZ guidelines enforced by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recently directed the Group of Ministers formed by the government to finalise monetisation of Rushikonda property and land, to expedite a decision.

There is a proposal to redevelop the Rushikonda property into cultural spaces, museums, luxury villas/hotels and premium hospitality services as the super-structures, mentioned by many as mansion, is costing Rs3 crore per annum on maintenance and security. The electricity bill itself is costing Rs.15 lakh per month. "Not only monetisation of the property, the use of vacant land for recreation and tourism will also fetch revenue to the government," Finance Minister Payavvala Keshav said during a recent media interaction at Amaravati. He said they would examine how to make use of vacant land near the buildings without violating the CRZ norms.

The new buildings belonging to AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) were built after demolishing a resort belonging to it. The resort, which was offering budget-friendly sea-facing rooms, was fetching Rs7 crore revenue per year to the Tourism Department before the decision to redevelop them under the plea that redevelopment would be a better option.