Govt. denied there are major violations in the construction of tourist retreat on Rushikonda hillock 

The govt. stated that the APTDC has taken up the Rushikonda project comprising seven blocks with a total built-up area of 19,968 square metres and since the work site falls in CRZ-II area, it (APTDC) approached the MOEFCC and obtained required clearances.

Within a few hours of the expert committee informing the High Court (HC) that the A.P. Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) modified the plan for its luxurious retreat atop Rushikonda hillock without prior approvals of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the government clarified that the APTDC confined to the project area of 9.88 acres as per the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance and maintained that there is no deviation except a slight change in the location of individual buildings to suit the site condition.

The government stated that the APTDC has taken up the Rushikonda project comprising seven blocks with a total built-up area of 19,968 square metres and since the work site falls in CRZ-II area, it (APTDC) approached the MOEFCC and obtained required clearances. It said the APTDC restricted the construction to four blocks with a total built- up area of 13,542 square metres in an extent of 1.84 acres as against the approved seven blocks with a built-up area of 19,968 square metres on 2.71 acres.

It was further claimed that the APTDC secured all the required permissions for the project namely the building plan approval for 13,587.20 square metres built-up area from the GVMC, fire safety approval (also from the GVMC), forest clearance for removing 139 trees and the Consent for Establishment for a built-up area of 13,792.80 square from the AP Pollution Control Board.

The government said the project development, slope and soil dump areas which the expert committee faulted, have, in fact, almost tallied with those submitted by APTDC to the HC in its counter affidavit, and only the soil dump area has been reported as slightly more than that reported by the APTDC. Nevertheless, this area will be cleared off the dumped material once the construction is completed.

Referring to the committee’s observation that the APTDC made modifications in the land use patterns and number of blocks without the MOEFCC approval, the government said since the  APTDC is executing the project with only four buildings and reduced the built-up area from the originally proposed 19,968 square metres to 13,542 square metres, no change has been made in the land use pattern and that the built-up area is well within the approved limit. 

The expert committee has erroneously read the built-up area as 15,364 square metres due to an arithmetical mistake. In actual execution, the built-up area is 13,542 square metres which is within the approved area of construction, the government note stated.