Muhammad Bin Tughlaq was a wise man but he was impractical and because of this, his decisions had a crippling effect on the Delhi Sultanate. But at least, his decisions were taken not from an inflated sense of ego but what he believed to be were in the best interests of the regime.
The same cannot be said about Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu whose obsession with Amaravati is solely intended for the benefit of his community.
Repeated pleas from intellectuals and other sections of society advising him against this foolhardy venture, has fallen on deaf ears.
But, with no help forthcoming from the Centre, he has floated Amaravati Bonds on the Bombay Stock Exchange to raise money for Amaravati.
How much money has he raised with these bonds and what will it cost the people of Andhra Pradesh?
Here are the details:
Amount of capital raised= Rs 2,000 crore
Interest to be paid by government = 10.5% = Rs 21 crore per month for 10 years
20% incentive for the bonds after five years = Rs 400 crore
Commission to be paid to BSE = Rs 500 crore approximately
In total, the government will be paying an interest amount of Rs 3,000 crore as interest alone.
It will not come as a surprise if the people who invested in the bonds turn out to be from Naidu’s own community as that will indirectly mean that the people of the State will be paying huge amounts as interest to Naidu’s men to construct a capital which will be owned by them.
In other words, it is like financing the construction of an apartment which will eventually be owned by the builder and not the person financing it. Quite plausible!
What is the biggest priority for Andhra Pradesh right now? Amaravati or Polavaram? Why could he not have issued bonds for Polavaram instead?
Every person across the State would have contributed to it if the Centre is unwilling to help? But no! He’d rather have a brick from every household for Amaravati as that will benefit his people whereas Polavaram is being monitored by the Centre.
