It’s a long wait for sea-facing palatial ‘Mahal’ to get repurposed

As the adage goes, ‘Man proposes, God disposes’. And so the sea-facing palatial ‘Mahal’ at Rushikonda, built to reside post the 2024 polls, never met its actual purpose.

Splurging Rs 500 crore, it was built discreetly, ‘projected’ to meet international standards, under the banner of ‘tourism venture’ in violation of CRZ norms only to be inaugurated even more secretly replacing Haritha Resorts with media kept at bay and green ‘purdahs’ layered intact over it.

Back in YSRCP’s tenure, the blocks, christened as ‘Vijayanagara’ (comprising three units), ‘Vengi’ (consisting of two units), ‘Gajapathi,’ and ‘Kalinga’ were raised swiftly, along with their secrecy. All of them were meant to serve different purposes, best known to YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who waited to move to the palace lock, stock and barrel post the 2024 elections. However, destiny had different plans.

When the TDP-BJP-JSP combine came to power, the veil was finally lifted as curiosity got the better of them. Much to their surprise, the Mahal’s plush interiors, extravagant furniture and fixtures, mirror-like marble flooring and gold-toned washroom fixtures, the sea-view and the opulence every nook and corner exuded made their jaws drop. The Mahal eventually turned out to be even more luxurious than they expected. For sure, ‘a thing of beauty is a joy forever’. But the joy did not last long for the NDA government as despite racking its collective head for over two years, it is yet to succeed in putting the complexes, or even a few of them, to use.

For the Naidu-led NDA government in the state, infusing large-scale investments into Andhra Pradesh is an easier task than repurposing the ‘Mahal’ at Rushikonda. Barring a step or two, the project remains unutilised so far.

Earlier, speaking to select media persons, Visakhapatnam Member of Parliament M. Sribharat shared that not many are eager to lay a finger on the project for apparent reasons. “As the project is mired in environmental and CRZ violations, it has become a ‘Shani’ to deal with,” MP lamented.

When Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently distributed house regularisation pattas to beneficiaries in Visakhapatnam, he could not help but express concern over the ‘palace’, recalling, “Kings left, kingdoms vanished, but ‘someone’ built a ‘palace’ at a sacred hill where sages used to meditate. We are yet to repurpose the Rushikonda project as it has turned out to be a white elephant.” The CM, however, assured that the government will work it out soon.

The most worrisome factor of the seven-block palace is that it incurs lakhs of rupees for monthly upkeep while sitting idle with zero utility. A three-member committee, consisting of ministers, was formed to assess various means to repurpose the project. Although a couple of PPP-mode suggestions were floated, and a handful of big groups such as Leela and Taj evinced interest, violation of norms and pending legal cases leave little freedom for potential takers to convert the ‘Mahal’ into a viable venture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rani Devalla

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Rani Devalla is an experienced journalist specialised in a range of beats. From crime to politics, health to human interest, education to defence along with entertainment and feature stories, Rani Devalla, an accomplished writer with a passion for exploring diverse genres, has been reporting for the past 14 years. Serving as Bureau Chief of The Hans India in Visakhapatnam, Rani Devalla contributes to the organisation's editorial department through daily reporting, special stories and feature stories. After completing B.Com, Rani Devalla pursued Masters in Human Resource Management. Prior to joining The Hans India, Rani Devalla worked as a Principal Correspondent with The Hindu Group for six-and-a-half years. With rich expertise, she brings diverse perspectives to her reporting that makes her narratives stand out. When not immersed in writing, the journalist spends time reading, travelling and journaling.

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