Deputy CM considers options of converting Rushikonda project as MICE destination

Visakhapatnam: Through MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism concept, the Rushikonda palace built by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's government spending Rs.453 crore should be converted into an income-generating project, opined Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan.

Paying a visit to the much-restricted Rushikonda palace as part of his three-day trip to Visakhapatnam, the Deputy Chief Minister reached Rushikonda palace on Friday.

After going through various blocks of the premises, the Deputy Chief Minister expressed wonder over the extravagance of the project and the exorbitant amount that went behind its construction. Responding to the Deputy CM's queries, the officials concerned mentioned that the palace was built replacing a revenue-generating Haritha Resorts developed by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation wherein the resorts used to make a revenue of Rs.7 crore to Rs.8 crore per annum. "But now, instead of generating any revenue from the project, it has become a burden for the government as the pending power bill turned out to be Rs.1 crore," pointed out Kandula Durgesh, Tourism Minister, who accompanied Pawan Kalyan to Rushikonda.

Sharing his views, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar expressed concern over how the ancient Rushikonda has been exploited during the YSRCP's tenure under the pretext of alterations made for Vastu purpose.

Later, Pawan Kalyan held a meeting with the party's legislative members and sought feedback from them on how to put the mansion built by Jagan to use. Speaking on the occasion, he suggested, "There is a need to convert the Rs.453 crore project into an income-generating one on the similar lines of a private player, who had invested such a hefty sum in a project."