The government is in the process of clearing pending bills submitted by the contractors for works done in 2019-24 in a phased manner, says Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana. File
| Photo Credit: KVS GIRI
Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana said during Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) works and trunk road infrastructure and housing projects in Amaravati estimated to cost ₹51,800 crore had been awarded by the AP Capital Region Development Authority (AP-CRDA) and Amaravati Development Corporation Limited, and they were in different stages.Of the 4,000 MLA, MLC, and officers’ quarters, 3,500 would be completed by March 31, 2026, as works were going on at a brisk pace, he said, while informing the House that the government was in the process of clearing pending bills submitted by the contractors for works done in 2019-24 in a phased manner, given its financial constraints.Cost of jungle clearanceMr. Narayana mentioned that 35,000 acres of land had been acquired under the LPS, and 360-km of trunk roads and 1,650-km of LPS roads were being laid. He said the government had to spend ₹30 crore on jungle clearance as the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government had abandoned Amaravati in the name of three capitals. As on date, 10,000 workers were constructing various government buildings and creating other infrastructure.Kaikalur MLA Kamineni Srinivas recalled that Amaravati was buzzing with activity in 2014-19 when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu achieved commendable progress in the capital city works, but all of that came to a naught as Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (former Chief Minister) came up with the concept of ‘decentralisation’ in late 2019, and almost six years later, the YSRCP appeared to be supportive of Amaravati as the single capital city going by its leader Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy’s comments.Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy should himself speak out whether he was still in favour of the three capitals, or was he convinced about the prudence of having Amaravati as the greenfield capital city, which was initially endorsed by him, Mr. Srinivas demanded, and requested Mr. Narayana to finish the whole capital project before seniors like him retired from active politics.Fate of small contractorsVisakhapatnam North MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju said the government should do justice to thousands of small contractors whose five-year wait for opportunities to execute capital works went in vain as they were allotted to only nine big contractors. He suggested that the government direct the big contractors, calling them ‘Navaratnas’, to give subcontracts to their smaller peers so that the latter also could make a living.He pointed out that the Andhra Pradesh Building Contractors’ Association had over 3,000 members, but a vast majority of them were in dire straits as the works done by them in 2019-24 went unpaid (their bills were kept pending by the YSRCP government) and the ‘big nine’ contractors successfully bagged the major chunk of capital works.The contractors were in such dire straits during the YSRCP rule that 43 of them had committed suicide due to severe financial distress and their plight continued to be sordid, therefore, the government should do justice to them, he insisted.Replying to him, Mr. Narayana said, since the government wanted its buildings in Amaravati to meet global standards, it laid down the tender conditions accordingly, implying that a few could match the requirements, and that though the government was aware of the problems faced by the small contractors, it could make an unofficial request to, but not dictate the companies doing the major projects in Amaravati to give some of the works to subcontractors as it was their prerogative. Published - September 24, 2025 07:29 pm IST
