VISAKHAPATNAM: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the state government not to take any final decision on the future use of the redeveloped buildings atop Rushikonda hill in Visakhapatnam, keeping one of the state’s most politically charged infrastructure disputes in limbo.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice issued the direction while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Pithala Murthy Yadav, a former corporator from Visakhapatnam, who has alleged that Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms were violated during the redevelopment of the hillside complex overlooking the Bay of Bengal.
The government told the court that it had merely invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the operation and maintenance of the buildings, describing the move as an exploratory step rather than a final decision on how the property will be used. The bench declined to stay the EOI process itself, but made clear that no final call can be taken until the reports of the committees that examined the project’s environmental impact, along with the union government’s position, are placed before it.
A project that has never escaped controversy
The Rushikonda complex has been a lightning rod in state politics for years. Conceived as a tourism project, the sprawling seven-block development drew criticism over its scale, its cost and its location on an ecologically sensitive coastal hill that was once a celebrated beach destination. The dispute sharpened after allegations that the buildings were intended to serve as a camp office rather than a tourist facility, a charge that successive governments have traded blame over.
For the coalition government, the EOI route was meant to signal that the buildings would be put to productive use rather than left idle. The court’s intervention now means any such plan must wait until the environmental questions at the heart of the PIL are settled.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that permitting commercial operations before the CRZ issues are adjudicated would create irreversible facts on the ground. The government, for its part, maintains that all requisite clearances were obtained and that keeping the premises unused serves nobody’s interest.
The matter will come up again after the committee reports are filed. Until then, the future of one of the most expensive pieces of public real estate on the Andhra coast remains, quite literally, on hold — visible to every visitor to Visakhapatnam, but off limits to any final decision.
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