AP CM asks capital development authority to go ahead with dev

Appeared to be giving some clarity on Amaravati's fate as state capital for the first time since assuming power in May, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday asked the APCRDA to go ahead with the development works and complete them on a priority basis.

All works related to the capital city development were brought to a halt on May 30 following a government order, putting a question mark on whether or not Amaravati would remain the state's new capital.

Jagan Reddy conducted a high-level review meeting on the capital here on Monday and directed that constructions that neared completion in Amaravati region be taken up first.

The government is ready to grant funds. Complete the works as quickly as possible on a priority basis, a late night release from the Chief Minister's Office said, quoting Jagan.

The Chief Minister, according to the release, asked the officials to keep the states financial position in mind and avoid unnecessary expenditure while going ahead with the works.

He suggested that reverse tendering could bring down the costs and lessen the burden on the exchequer.

Enquiring about the designs of arterial roads in the capital, the Chief Minister asked the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) officials to ensure nothing was amiss in planning.

Take expert advise from professors of IITs and other prestigious institutions on designs and costs.Take up landscaping along the road margins and ensure the expenditure is minimized in development of basic infrastructure, he added.

The release said the government decided to develop infrastructure in the returnable plots allotted to farmers, who parted with their lands for the capital.

Municipal Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, CRDA Commissioner Lakshmi Narasimham and other officials attended.