VIJAYAWADA: Even as the State government is pursuing with the Centre for the re-notification of the principal bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court from Amaravati to Kurnool, the authorities are set to initiate the process of constructing another building on the premises of the existing court in Nelapadu. The Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA) has issued a notification inviting tenders for a G+3 structure in the High Court compound to accommodate more court halls, chambers and allied facilities with an estimated cost of `29.4 crore.
According to the tender, which will be available for bidding from Monday till September 1, a total of 14 court halls, chambers and other administrative facilities with a built-up area of 76,000 sq feet will be there in the new structure. While the new building will be G+3, the AMRDA has said that the foundation would be for a G+5 structure, so that it could be extended, if need be.
The decision to construct a new building, that too with close to `30 crore, has come as a surprise as the State is in the process of getting necessary clearances for moving the judicial base to Kurnool, which the YSRC government has proposed as the judicial capital, one among the three capitals proposed as a part of decentralised administration and development. However, sources in the AMRDA said that the proposal for the new building was not made by the state government and it was a request from the High Court.
“The High Court officials held a meeting with the Chief Secretary in which they underscored the need for more office space as the existing structure was not meeting their needs. The request for more office space has been under discussion right from the time the High Court became operational in 2019. But, with the State giving its nod recently, we are going for tendering,” a senior AMRDA official told TNIE.
For the record, the existing ‘judicial complex’ was developed in four acres with a built-up area of 2.53 lakh sq feet by spending close to `180 crore. It has 16 court halls. The High Court building, which also has an additional 12.6 acres of land for parking and other facilities, was inaugurated in February, 2019.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in June, and on previous occasions, had requested for re-notification of the High Court to Kurnool.In March this year, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy revealed that the High Court buildings will come up at Jagannatha Gutta of Kurnool and that the government may allot 250 acres for its construction, subject to clearance of legal formalities. On August 11, the YSRC MPs led by V Vijayasai Reddy met Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju with the same request.