VISAKHAPATNAM The fate of the Rushikonda project in North Andhra has ignited significant debate following the recent elections.

The community remains divided on the project's potential use, with some advocating for its development into a resort to boost tourism, while others propose it be transformed into a convention center and guest house.

Many district officials support the idea of repurposing the project for government functions, including conferences, meetings, summits, and as a guest house for visiting delegates and investors.

This follows the understated inauguration of the Rushikonda resorts about 100 days ago, which was subdued due to ongoing legal disputes.

The AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) embarked on this ambitious project with a Rs. 365 crore investment, replacing the previously renovated tourism resorts on Rushikonda Hill in 2021.

The new development spans a 9.88-acre area and comprises seven blocks with a combined area of 13,793 square meters.

Controversy has surrounded the project, attracting scrutiny from apex courts and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) after authorities excavated the hill for construction.

The resort includes seven blocks named Vengi A, Vengi B, Kalinga, Gajapati, and Vijayanagara A, B, and C. Each block features banquet halls, guest rooms, restaurants, villa suites, a spa, a fitness center, indoor games, back office, and service areas.

One block functions as a business hotel, and another is dedicated to conference halls.

A senior officer in the district administration suggested that the new government might lean towards using the Rushikonda Hill facilities as a tourism resort, despite earlier recommendations to use the buildings as the Chief Minister's Camp Office by a three-member cabinet committee.

Peetal Murthy Yadav, a Janasena party leader and corporator in the Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation, who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court against the previous government and approached the NGT, urged the new administration to honor the project's intended use for tourism.

He highlighted that the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had approved the project specifically for tourism-related activities, emphasizing that the state government had originally presented the plan as a tourism resort redevelopment.

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