The differences between the government of Andhra Pradesh and the High Court of Andhra Pradesh continue to increase as the days pass by, with more and more conflicts rising between the two. There hasn’t been a single instance where the two bodies looked eye to eye on a matter.
Now, the AP government has completely disregarded the High Court and passed an order that is sure to irk the HC at all costs. Just this morning, a petition regarding the guest house in Vizag had been discussed in the HC, and there hasn’t been any verdict in the HC yet. Without waiting for the HC’s verdict, the government has decided to do what it wants.
The government had allotted 30 acres for this guest house, and has been planning to build a massive guest house in the area. This 30 acres is of the 300 acres that has been given to GreyHounds, in Kapuluppada. The thing with Kapuluppada is that it has been announced as a historic destination and is protected by the government of India. This means that the state government cannot make any constructions in the area without the permission of the Indian Government.
Despite the Petition, Praveen Prakash, on behalf of the Department of General Administration has released GO 1353, giving permission for the construction of the guest house.
Lawyer Nidesh Gupta had questioned why the AP government was allocating 30 acres to a state guest house, when the Raj Bhavan was itself located in 5 acres of land, and still had 350 rooms. And now, judging by the way the government is going ahead with the construction of the guest house, irrespective of what the HC has said, it looks as though the government is hell bent on finding different ways to establish the Executive Capital in Visakhapatnam at any cost. Also, this just shows how inconsequential and inexistent the High Court is for the AP Government!
Additionally, the HC has also issued a stay order with respect to the sale of lands under the name of Build AP. The government had been planning to sell 75 cents of land in Chinagadili Mandal District Training Center and 1 acre land near AR Police Quarters. With a stay order having been given to this, it is to be seen what the government will do.
