The newly formed Andhra Pradesh government headed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is in a state of confusion as to what it should do with the palatial bungalows constructed by the previous YSR Congress party government on beach-front Rushikonda hills in Visakhapatnam.
Some suggested that it can be leased out to a five-star hotel and others said it could be used as a VIP guest house or a Convention Centre. But none of these suggestions appeared to be a viable solution for the Naidu government.
At this stage, retired IAS officer and former Union secretary E A S Sarma wrote to the Centre demanding that the Rushikonda palatial complex should be demolished as it was built in violation of environmental norms.
In a letter addressed to Leena Nandan, Secretary, Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MEFCC), Sarma requested the Centre to revoke the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) approval given to AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) for modifying its tourist facility atop Rushikonda Hill in Visakhapatnam.
He said that the APTDC committed multiple violations in respect of the conditions stipulated in the CRZ approval order, infringing the CRZ notification by undertaking construction in the other parts of the CRZ area without prior approval, for dumping construction waste unauthorisedly in CRZ stretches along the sea and violating the condition stipulated by the apex court.
Sarma recalled the observations of the Supreme Court in a case related to Meradu Apartments in Kerala. He pointed out that the apex court had ordered the demolition of the Meradu apartments which came up in violation of the CRZ Notification.
The retired IAS officer requested the ministry to respect the apex court's observation and direction in that case and adopt the same approach to the Rushikonda complex, by ordering the demolition of the structures/ portions of the structures that came up in violation of the CRZ Notification.
“The Ministry should hold all those in the State Government responsible for such a blatant violation and recover the cost of demolition and all other consequential costs plus a deterrent penalty from them personally,” he said.
