Ground breaking for AP capital city in October

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu says Centre's help is must

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu today sought the support of the Centre on the policy as well as on the financial front to develop the new capital city proposed for the state in and around Guntur district.

The state government has decided to go ahead with the foundation-laying ceremony for the new capital city on June 6, coinciding with the completion of one year in government, while the ground-breaking to mark the commencement of actual work is scheduled to be held only after five months on the Vijaya Dasami (Dasara) day in October this year.

The foundation-laying will be done without the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the state government could not secure his commitment for the same, though Naidu said he was hopeful of involving him with the process in a later stage.

“We expect the Centre to provide all the necessary support till a level-playing field was emerged for AP with other frontline states. The Centre had given Rs 500 crore for the development of the capital city in addition to Rs 1,000 crore for the urban development this year. We want much more and are hoping that the state would receive a liberal help, including the grant of special status,” Naidu said, after formally receiving the capital city masterplan developed by a consortium of Singapore firms led by Surbana International Consultants under an understanding with the Singapore government.

A reminder of the state's wishlist comes in the backdrop of the growing discontent, often marked by the critical remarks of the functionaries within the state government, over the Centre not forthcoming enough to help the state without a capital city despite the ruling Telugu Desam Party being an ally.The emboldened Congress party has already demanded Naidu to withdraw his ministers from the NDA government on this issue.

“One year is already over. We want to complete the first stage of the capital city project as early as possible,” the chief minister said, with out committing on the exact time lines.

The government’s ambitious plan for the capital city involves mobilisation of 33,000 acre of farm land for the core city and a three-stage master plan covering 7,420 square km (sq km) of the capital region, 854 sq km of the central plan area and a 217 sq km of  the capital city envisaging a population of 13 million individuals by 2050.

According to Naidu, the plan for the capital is expected to be submitted by the Singapore consortium by July 15 and thereafter the government would handle other issues like the finalisation of the master developer for the capital city. Naidu said they had requested the Singapore government’s assistance in choosing a master developer for the capital city.

Responding to a question in this regard, Singapore minister S Eswaran said some of their companies might take part in the process selection for the master developer. “We have reached the second milestone of the agreement in master-planning the capital city. The master plan sets a new benchmark on international standards and envisages a great deal of economic activity over the coming decades,” Eswaran said.

Naidu said the formalities with regard to to 17,000 acre under the land pooling mechanism had so far been completed.