Big plans for new capital

The historical region of Amaravathi, chosen to be the capital city of the new Andhra Pradesh, resembles the terrain of 1960s Singapore. But the attempt is to replicate Amaravati as Singapore in the 21st century, a commercial island city-state on the Krishna riverfront. But this will be a mammoth task, given the innumerable hurdles that lie in wait for Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and residual Andhra during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime left many scars on Andhra Pradesh. The split State has a Rs. 17,000 crore budget deficit, with no capital city to call its own. Though the State machinery has been allowed to function from Hyderabad for 10 years after bifurcation, several departments have had to suffer step-motherly treatment in the new Telangana regime under its first Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao.

The bifurcation, which took place ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, deeply hurt Telugu pride, but political parties across the spectrum, in their constant attempts to be politically correct, have not revealed these wounds. The loss of Hyderabad, or Cyberabad as it was fondly called, in which Andhra Pradesh has high stakes, was another blow. It was especially painful for Mr. Naidu, whose efforts to conceive of and build Hyderabad into a world-class cyber city are well known.

While cash-rich Telangana is in celebratory mode on its first birthday, Mr. Naidu has resolved to have no festivities. Instead, there is going to be a Nava Nirmana Deeksha or focus on the building of a new State.

Mr. Naidu apparently wants to turn this adversity into an opportunity by planning a world-class capital on the banks of the river Krishna. About 7,068 sq. km have been earmarked for the capital region, of which 225 sq. km have been dedicated to Amaravathi, the capital city. In the words of Mr. Naidu, it will not just be “an administrative capital but an economic driver, a people’s capital, and an affordable city”.

Amaravathi, meaning ‘abode of the immortal’, is a small town in Guntur district, and was specifically chosen by Mr. Naidu to leverage on its rich 2,000-year-old heritage. It was the capital of the Satavahana kings between the 2nd and 3rd century BCE — they ruled most of the country from here — and also an important region for Buddhism.

Mr. Naidu wants the new capital to be Andhra Pradesh’s pride. “After the bifurcation, he wanted to develop Amaravathi into a world class city and a huge metropolis near Visakhapatnam, as a fitting counter [to Telangana],” said a leader closely associated with the Chief Minister.

The people’s response to the government’s intended pooling of around 33,000 acres needed for the capital has been positive, according to ministers and officials. The government was able to successfully convince farmers and pool almost half of the land along with ownership rights. The offer of annuity and developed residential and commercial land has been received well by several land owners.