Visakhapatnam, April 10, 2026: The Andhra Pradesh government has withdrawn the in-principle approval granted to the LuLu Group International for construction of a mall in Vijayawada.
The decision was challenged by former Minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao through a Writ Petition for Public Interest Litigation (PIL). A High Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Challa Gunarajan recorded the submission of the Advocate General, while senior Counsel A. Satya Prasad and advocates U.D. Jai Bhima Rao and Gutta Rothith represented the petitioner.
The in-principle allotment of the land for the LuLu mall was followed by the instructions to the Transport Department and the APSRTC to transfer the existing structure to alternate lands and hand over the identified stretch in the Old Bus Stand area for the project to the Tourism Department.
The LuLu Group proposed a G+3 shopping mall with a built-up area of 2.32 lakh sft with 120 retail shops at an estimated cost of ₹156 crore according to the reports published in thehindu.com.
The RTC unions said the land, located in the heart of Vijayawada, is worth hundreds of crores of rupees and handing such a prime land to private parties would be tantamount to misuse of public assets.
The government, on its part, maintained that the project was intended to attract investments and create employment and that alternative land would be provided to APSRTC to compensate for the loss of the depot space.
