YSRCP Chief Jagan Calls Amaravati Economically Unsustainable, Backs MAVIGAN

The political battle over Andhra Pradesh’s capital city intensified on Thursday after former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy accused the ruling coalition government of turning the ambitious Amaravati project into a financially unsustainable venture driven by political interests and large-scale corruption allegations.

Addressing a media conference at the YSR Congress Party headquarters in Tadepalli, Jagan alleged that the government was deliberately creating “false hopes” around Amaravati despite knowing the enormous financial burden the project could place on the state. He claimed the capital city project was being promoted not for balanced development, but to facilitate massive contracts and benefit select groups close to the ruling establishment.

The YSRCP chief stated that developing basic infrastructure in Amaravati would eventually cost more than ₹2 lakh crore , making it one of the costliest urban projects in the country. He pointed out that the coalition government had already borrowed nearly ₹47,387 crore for Amaravati works and allocated another ₹9,200 crore in the latest state budget. Questioning the need for fresh construction, Jagan said Assembly, Secretariat, and High Court buildings built earlier were still available and functional.

Jagan particularly targeted the proposed Secretariat construction costs, alleging that the government was spending nearly ₹20,427 per square foot for buildings in the capital region. He claimed the final expenditure could rise to almost ₹40,000 per square foot after interior and finishing works are completed. Comparing the figures with premium commercial projects in metro cities, he argued that even luxury buildings in Bengaluru cost far less. He also cited Telangana’s Secretariat project, claiming it was completed at a significantly lower cost.

Responding to questions on the practicality of the proposed MAVIGAN corridor linking Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur Jagan said the model was financially viable because the region already possessed strong infrastructure and did not require development “from scratch.” He claimed the corridor already benefits from two airports, multiple railway networks, national highways, a port ecosystem, and established urban centres. He also highlighted the region’s strong medical and educational infrastructure , including major hospitals, universities, and research institutions, arguing that these existing assets would significantly reduce capital expenditure while enabling faster economic growth.

The former Chief Minister further alleged irregularities in Amaravati’s land pooling system, accusing the government of favouring influential individuals with prime land allotments while ordinary farmers were shifted to less-developed areas.

Apart from the capital issue, Jagan accused the coalition government of suppressing dissent, failing to implement election promises, and diverting public attention from governance failures through political controversies. He claimed welfare programmes had weakened while public debt continued to rise sharply under the current administration.