The Rushikonda Palace became a huge controversy as former CM Jagan splurged a staggering Rs 500 crore of public exchequer. As soon as the TDP-led coalition government came to power, ordered a probe into it and even decided to put a hold on the pending bills related to the Rushikonda palace.
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav gave a clear instruction to withhold payments related to this project.
On Saturday morning, Payyavula visited the Secretariat and reviewed pending bills in his department. He specifically looked for the pending file related to the construction of buildings at Rushikonda.
However, quite shockingly, Payyavula could not find the file. When he questioned senior officials over the Rushikonda Palace file, they hesitantly revealed that the bills had already been cleared.
Furious at their response, Payyavula demanded an explanation, stating, “I had ordered to stop these payments. How were these bills cleared? I specifically instructed that Rushikonda palace contractors’ bills should not be processed!” Officials remained silent while Payyavula fired on them.
Despite the Finance Minister’s directive, officials went ahead and cleared the pending bill file. This became a topic of discussion.
Reports suggest that Payyavula has decided to escalate the issue to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
However, these payments had previously been instructed by the minister to be put on hold. Regardless, the actions of the officials have now turned into a major controversy.
Recently, CM Chandrababu Naidu has also warned officials multiple times, questioning why they are ignoring ministers’ instructions. He has made it clear that any future complaints will be taken seriously.
Now it needs to be seen how Chandrababu would react if Payyavula escalates the issue and complains against officials with CM.
Tags Payyavula Keshav Rushikonda Bills