More articles by

Lalita Iyer
Lalita Iyer

ANDHRA PRADESH

Countdown to capital

62-Amaravati Pretty site: The secretariat building at Velagapudi in Amaravati | Ramachander Pentuker

Naidu’s dream city—accessible and sustainable—will come up in Amaravati by 2019

  • “Andhra Pradesh has gone through some phenomenal periods, including the Satavahana and the Vijayanagara dynasties. All this will be reflected in the buildings.” - Parakala Prabhakar, Naidu’s adviser

There is a buzz when you drive through the narrow lanes leading to Velagapudi, the temporary seat of power in Andhra Pradesh. The white, numbered buildings have been decked up with lights and a fountain has been added to jazz up the secretariat at Velagapudi in Amaravati. If everything goes as per the plan, the core government city—one of the nine cities that would form the capital—in Amaravati would be up and functional by 2019. On May 15, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for the start-up area. “The core government city will have the secretariat, the legislative assembly, the High Court, chief minister’s residence and various other offices of heads of departments,” says Parakala Prabhakar, Naidu’s adviser. “The designs are at an advanced stage and the masterplan is ready.” The complex will come up on 1,400 acres and it will also house the Raj Bhavan.

UK-based architecture firm Norman Foster and Partners has been hired to design the entire complex. Initially, a Singapore-based consortium was invited to draw the design, but when their plans were found to be non-compliant with vaastu principles, the government invited three international firms to give fresh design plans. Finally, a fourth firm, Maki and Associates, was selected in 2015. However, the government was not too happy with the designs and so it replaced the firm with the present one. The designs are expected to reflect the state’s history, culture and heritage. “Andhra Pradesh has gone through some phenomenal periods, including the Satavahana and the Vijayanagara dynasties that had rich architectural designs. All this will be reflected in the buildings,” says Prabhakar.

While the masterplan is being prepared, apprehensions have been raised over the feasibility of the project, considering that the capital is being built over a region that is flood-prone. Every year, the region is inundated by the feeder rivulet Kondaveeti Vagu, also called the ‘stream of sorrow’. But the government has devised a plan to take care of the flooding. “The water will be utilised for a drinking water project for the people of Amaravati,” says Dr Mullapudi Renuka, official spokesperson for the TDP. “The opposition is trying to create panic by alleging that it is flood-prone and, therefore, not safe for construction. They have also filed cases with the National Green Tribunal.” The government aims to create a green capital. “None of this water will be wasted,” says Prabhakar.

However, getting land for the grand project was not easy. In 2014, the government launched the land pooling scheme. “Since the state was and still is short on funds, Naidu found land pooling to be the ideal model for building the capital city,” says Renuka. “He convinced the farmers to give up their land in exchange for a good package. Fortunately, many farmers agreed and he could collect nearly 33,000 acres from 29 villages.”

However, there were some voices of dissent because the farmers were being made to give up fertile land. The government has proposed to return 30 per cent of the developed land to its original owners and give an annual compensation.

“Globally, we have created a benchmark in acquiring land,” says Sreedhar Cherukuri, commissioner of Capital Region Development Authority. “Getting land for building cities like Chandigarh and Naya Raipur took five to six years. We also constructed a transit, functional government complex within 24 months at Velagapudi. Roads are being laid, pits are being dug for drainage and water arrangements have been made for the capital city. By March 2019, the critical infrastructure for water, power, roads and connectivity to different centres, and some social infrastructure will be ready.”

A couple of educational institutions, too, have shown interest in setting up their campus in Amaravati. Last year, Naidu laid the foundation stone for the SRM University, which will get 200 acres in two phases. The Vellore Institute of Technology has been given 150 acres. “The government invited our chancellor Dr G. Vishwanathan to Amaravati,” says Shiva Kumar, registrar of VIT. “Naidu shared his vision of turning Amaravati into a hub for higher education. Incidentally, ours will be the first institute to start classes in July.”

Dubai-based B.R. Shetty Group is planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore for its Medi City project, which will include a stem cell unit, a superspeciality hospital and a star hotel. The Indo-UK Institute of Health has been allotted 150 acres to set up a superspeciality hospital and a medical college. “The capital city is being planned on three basic concepts,” says Cherukuri. “Primarily, there will be the community for interaction. The second important factor is accessibility. Everything within the capital city will be at walkable distance. Almost 95 per cent of all the daily needs—schools, colleges, shopping and offices—will be within five minutes reach. The township will be at a distance of 10 minutes and a journey of 15 minutes will take a person to three city centres.”

The final aspect is sustainability. “Around 35 per cent of the city would be reserved for creating parks and water bodies,” says Cherukuri. “Together, the three elements will make the city efficient, sustainable and a happy place to live.” Special attention is being given to create walkways and cycle tracks.

Though Amaravati is in the middle of two bustling towns—Vijayawada and Guntur—it is still comparatively a remote place, but the connectivity is growing. “By 2025, the population of Amaravati will cross the one million mark and by 2050, it is expected to touch 3.5 million,” says Cherukuri.

The challenge is to change the mindset of the people. The government is taking help from the Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore, to train its officials in capacity building and urban development aspects.

To give the visitors a feel of the city, a gallery would be built on 4.5 acres at a cost of Rs 13.95 crore. It will engage the visitors through physical models, virtual reality experience and exhibitions.

This browser settings will not support to add bookmarks programmatically. Please press Ctrl+D or change settings to bookmark this page.
The Week

Topics : #Andhra Pradesh

Related Reading