Amaravati set to be reality soon : The Tribune India

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State of Affairs: Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati set to be reality soon

MORE than three years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the ambitious plan to build a world-class capital city has cleared its final hurdle. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given its nod for construction of the river-front capital between Vijayawada and Guntur in the paddy-rich coastal Andhra region.

Amaravati set to be reality soon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being briefed about the ‘Layout plan of Amaravati City’. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is also seen. PTI file



Suresh Dharur

MORE than three years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the ambitious plan to build a world-class capital city has cleared its final hurdle. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given its nod for construction of the river-front capital between Vijayawada and Guntur in the paddy-rich coastal Andhra region.

The dream project of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has so far been bogged down by delays with the plans never crossing the drawing board stage. The delay has provided ammunition for the Opposition YSR Congress headed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is now on a six-month-long walkathon across the state highlighting the failures of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Government.

The green nod for the capital project has, however, come with some riders. A Full Bench of the NGT, headed by Justice Swatantra Kumar, directed the Government to protect all the flood plains in the area. It ordered constitution of two green panels to ensure there was no deviation from the plans submitted to it and natural water bodies and green cover were protected.

While rejecting the petitions filed by three activists, including retired IAS officer EAS Sarma, who sought a stay on the grounds that it involved gross violation of green laws, the tribunal laid down clear-cut environmental guidelines for the capital project. An amount of Rs 5 crore is to be kept as deposit with the panels so that any violations would lead to confiscation of the money as penalty.

In a big relief to the government, the tribunal ruled that around 33,000 acres of the land pooled for the project from 29 villages spread over Krishna and Guntur districts was not forcibly taken from the farmers.

“The NGT verdict is a moral victory for us. The river-front capital city will have 9,000 acres of green cover. The technologies are fast changing. Countries like Singapore and Dubai were built after reclamation of sea,” an elated Chandrababu Naidu said.

Amaravati, named after the ancient Buddhist city, was the seat of power of Telugu rulers nearly two millennia ago. The core capital area will be spread over 217 sq km covering Krishna and Guntur districts.

The Vijayawada-Guntur region has been chosen for the new capital as it is centrally located and accessible from all parts of the state. The Singapore government has designed the master plan for the city that seeks to combine tradition with modernity and incorporates the concepts of Vastu and Feng Shui, the Indian and Chinese sciences of construction.

This is the first time that a foreign country has designed a state capital in India. According to the plan, the capital region will be spread over 7,420 sq km, of which the capital city would occupy 217 sq km. The plan envisages an area of 6.84 sq km to be the first to be developed. This core area will contain within it the Assembly, Secretariat, Raj Bhavan and High Court buildings.

Singapore consortium Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development Limited has been nominated as the master developer to construct the main structures in the Seed Capital area. The government had floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Amaravati Development Company (ADC). It is proposed that the Singapore consortium and ADC would together develop the capital city.

For the first time, the World Bank has offered loan for construction of a new state capital in India. It will provide Rs 6,800 crore to develop infrastructure in and around the proposed state capital. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has also sanctioned a loan of Rs 7,500 crore to take up development of urban infrastructure.

“Amaravati will be constructed in such a way that it will become a role model for the rest of the country. It has become the cynosure of all eyes nationally and internationally, and of investors,” the CM said.

Junket under cloud

The Telangana Government has drawn flak for its decision to send nearly 1,000 officers in batches to Israel to study drip irrigation methods. The officials from Agriculture and Horticulture departments will be part of this junket which comes in the midst of continued suicides by the debt-ridden farmers in the country’s newest state. As many as 21 cotton farmers have committed suicide in the last two weeks in Warangal district alone.

The officers will be flown to Israel in batches of 100 each to undergo a training module for 15-20 days between December and April next year. The junket will cost the Telangana exchequer Rs 25 crore.

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