Chandrababu goes on Camp Office changing spree

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is on a camp office-changing spree at a huge cost to the public exchequer. The Chief Minister's Office says Rs 80 crore had been spent of Chandrababu's camp offices. In the past 2 years, Chandrababu had changed five camp offices, besides two regular offices for him. At each of the camp offices, residences for the security staff, vaastu changes and so on have been done. All this expenditure had been at the cost of the public exchequer. Work is going on at the temporary Secretariat coming up at Velagapudi also, which is again temporary. As soon as it gets ready, scheduled to be completed in June, the CM Camp Office will shift to Velagapudi from Vijayawada. In the next 2 to 3 years, when the Secretariat is fully fledged, Chandrababu will have to change his office again, which would thus be the ninth time he would be changing his office premises. Already, the Andhra Pradesh government had given orders that Chandrababu Naidu's farmhouse at Madinaguda, Hyderabad, be converted into a camp office. A sum of Rs 2 crore had bee spent on that. This was an addition to the residences at Road No 24 and Road No 65, Jubilee Hills, which were also turned into Camp Offices for the Chief Minister at a cost of Rs 2 crore. Already, in the Hyderabad Secretariat, first H Block and then L Block, offices were prepared for him at a cost of crores of rupees, but these are since lying unused. Prior to that the Lake View Guest House had been spruced up for him by the AP government at a cost of Rs 45 lakh. Chandrababu had not visited the Hyderabad Secretariat in a long time. As the Chief Minister decided that he would be functioning from Vijayawada, a huge sum of Rs 21 crore was spent on the Camp Office there. That would also be temporary. When his Camp Office in the Velagapudi temporary Secretariat gets ready, he would be shifting there from Vijayawada. To add to that, the Capital Regional Development Authority is considering arranging a helipad on the Secretariat so that the Chief Minister would not have to use the road to go to his office. The expenditure could as well be imagined. As Chandrababu is going on a camp office-changing spree, economic and other experts are questioning the huge burden on the State exchequer when the State is shouting from the roof-tops about revenue and other deficits in the post-split AP. In contrast, there is the Tripura Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar, who goes to his office from his frugal residence on a bicycle.