AP to build new capital around Vijayawada city

Chandrababu Naidu govt rejects idea of distributed capital functions but proposes decentralised development in state

Vetoing the suggestion of distributed capital functions given by the Sivaramakrishnan committee last month, Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday declared the areas centered around Vijayawada to be the new capital city of the truncated state.

AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu moved a resolution in the state legislative assembly to this effect and said the state cabinet at its meeting on September 1, 2014 had decided that the integrated and equitable development of the state can be best served by locating the capital city at a central place around Vijayawada.

The government has proposed to acquire the land necessary for building new capital from farmers through land pooling mechanism as it claimed that the move would encourage people to participate and benefit from the development of capital city. "As a result the new capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh can proudly call itself as a people's capital,"the government said.

While endorsing the concept of a centralised location for the capital functions, the AP government, however, opted for a decentralised development model for the state by proposing to establish different institutions, industries and other projects for each of the 13 districts partly in acknowledgement of the expert committee's views on the development.

The decentralised development involves the development of three mega cities at Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada representing the three sub-regions as well as 14 smart cities as decided by the state cabinet earlier this week. In a 20-page statement, the government tentatively listed out the projects and institutions to be set up in each district.

Arguing in favour of a new capital city at Vijayawada, chief minister Naidu said his government believed that the creation of a wold-class city at a central location is essential to create a level playing field for the new state. "As experience from across the world demonstrates, a vibrant capital city can act as a catalyst for economic development for the entire state and become an iconic city that is a source of pride for all the citizens," Naidu said in a statement in the legislative assembly.

Notwithstanding the constitution of the five-member committee headed by K C Sivaramakrishnan and its views on the new capital, the government had time and again hinted that its preferred choice was a single super capital city and its location would only be in the Vijayawada-Guntur region. It had even issued directives to all the departments for a makeshift arrangement to operate out of Vijayawada terming it as a temporary capital.

In a resolution endorsed by the legislative assembly, the state government has requested the Centre to take all measures required to create a level playing field to correct the disequilibrium created by the bifurcation and provide necessary financial and policy support for faster and equitable development of the state.

According to the AP Reorganisation Act the state government has the final authority to decide on the new capital but in consultation with Government of India. It is not clear if the Centre was consulted before declaring Vijayawada as the center around which the new capital will be built.

In the past few weeks the opposition parties accused the government of serving the real estate interests by promoting speculation in projecting Vijayawada and surrounding areas as the upcoming capital city region.

Ironically the expert committee had not only refuted the idea of one single city hosting the entire capital functions but also termed the core area of Vijayawada-Guntur region as unsuitable for this purpose owing to the fertile agriculture lands that exist in this region among other reasons.

During the course of the day the house proceedings were repeatedly interrupted by YSR Congress Party, the lone opposition in the state legislative assembly. It has tried to stall the house against the government's move to introduce a resolution in favour of the new capital city before taking up a detailed discussion on the subject involving all the members. The party president and the leader of opposition in the assembly Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy later endorsed the decision of the government.

It may be recalled that the five-member exert committee constituted by Government of India to examine various alternatives for a new capital for AP had strongly recommended for the distribution of capital functions involving the location of top government offices, including the high court across various locations in the state.

Some of the major projects and institutions to be set up outside the proposed capital city

Visakhapatnam: International airport, Metro rail, IIM, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Mega IT hub, new railway zone, electronics manufacturing hub, innovation and incubation hub and Gangavarm L&G Terminal

Srikakulam: New industrial city, Bhavanapadu and Kalingapatnam ports, new airport, School of Planning and Architecture, tourism circuits, open university.

Vijzianagaram: Greenfield airport, industrial city, tribal university, electronics hardware part, port, music and fine arts academy;

East Godawari district: Petroleum University, port, electronics hardware part, Telugu Unversity, L&G terminal, ship building unit;

West Godawari: National Institute of Technology, coal exploration, horticulture research centre.

Krishna district: Upgradation of the existing airport into an international airport facility, oil refinery and cracker unit, Machilipatnam port, VGTM(Vijajayawada-Gunture-Tenali-Mangalagiri) Metrorail,agri processing and textile parks

Guntur District: VGTM Metrorail, agriculture university, AIIMs, National Institute of Disaster Management, airport;

Prakasham: Donakonda industrial city, University of Mines and Minerals Sciences, airport, national manufacturing investment region;

Nellore: Automobile hub, airport, institute of hotel management, marine institute

Chittoor: Tirupati international airport, Kuppam airport, IIT, IT hub and Metrorail

Kadapa: Steel Plant, mineral based industries

Anantapur: Horticulture hub, Central University, satellite centre of AIIMs, electronics and hardware cluster

Kurnool: new airport, textile and cement clusters, Indian Institute of Information Technology(IIIT), Nuclear Fuel Complex