CJI lays foundation stone for Andhra High Court in Amaravati

Chief Justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for a permanent complex of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and inaugurated an interim building where the court will function till the construction of a permanent structure is completed.

The 'bhoomi pooja' of the High Court complex was conducted amid the chanting of Vedic hymns by priests. The permanent complex will come up on 42 acres at a cost of Rs 732 crore.

Fosters + Partners, London, are lead designers for the complex, which will come up in the shape of a Buddhist stupa, symbolic of the region which was a Buddhist centre for centuries. Shapoorji Pallonji Co will build the seven-storey building with a built up area of 20.32 lakh square feet. The project is expected to be completed in two years.

The Chief Justice also inaugurated the interim Judicial Complex which has come up on 4.2 acres area at a cost of Rs 173 crore. According to officials, the complex has 23 court halls abd houses the Advocate General, public prosecutors and others.

Ever since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana in 2014, the High Court in Hyderabad had been serving as the common High Court for both the states.

Separate high courts came into being for both the states on January 1 this year. The Andhra Pradesh High Court was functioning from a temporary structure, which was earlier housing the Chief Minister's official residence near Amaravati.

Justice Gogoi went around an exhibition, which highlighted the plans for proposed Justice City, Assembly, Secretariat and other upcoming projects in the state capital. Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Commissioner Ch. Sridhar through a video presentation briefed Justice Gogoi about the works undertaken in Amaravati.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that of the nine theme cities planned in Amaravati, Justice City will come up on 3,307 acres. He said this would emerge as as important global city on the lines of London, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Justice City will have law schools, alternative dispute resolution structure, law firms and international institutions.

Naidu said he wanted to build arbitration eco-system in Amaravti on the lines of Singapore, London and Hong Kong. He said the state government was also keen to set up NALSAR University.

--IANS

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