Panel on Andhra capital to submit its report next month

The expert committee constituted by the central government to study various alternatives regarding the new capital for Andhra Pradesh, plans to submit its report by the middle of August.

Former urban development secretary K. C. Sivaramakrishnan, who is heading the five-member panel, Saturday said though they have time till September, they hope to submit the report by the middle of next month.

Talking to reporters after nearly two-hour-long meeting with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, he said Naidu had strong commitment for all-round development of Andhra Pradesh.

Sivaramakrishnan said the state and the central government would take decisions on the basis of the committee's report.

The former bureaucrat said they were keen to see decentralization of development and were looking at various locations. He was of the view that having all activities at one place will not be proper.

The panel said the state could have 13 to 14 locations for development including three to four big cities like Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and other cities in Rayalaseema.

Sivaramakrishnan said besides being accessible to all areas, the capital should also have water, land and other natural resources.

"In Andhra it is not easy to find suitable land everywhere. The price of land is high. We are looking at places where land pooling arrangements can be made," he said.

The Telugu Desam Pary (TDP) government is keen to develop the capital between Vijayawada and Guntur.

Asked about this Sivaramakrishnan said there was need to look at not just about one city but about the areas surrounding Vijayawada and Gutur.

Meanwhile, state Urban Development Minister P. Narayana, who is heading an advisory committee constituted by the state government on the issue of developing the new capital, said a final decision on the new capital would be taken in three months.

He said the panel was studying various capitals in the country and also international cities like Brasilia, Islamabad, Singapore, Shanghai, Putrajaya and Canberra. The committee comprising industrialists will undertake a study tour of these cities.

Narayana ruled out two capitals for the state. He said the educational institutions sanctioned by the central government and other institutes would come up in all districts of the state.