AP panel on new capital to tour Asian nations to study models

After completing tours in the country, members of a special committee set up by the Andhra Pradesh Government to study various models for building the new capital of the State, will visit Singapore, Malaysia and China as part of their assignment.
The panel, headed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P Narayana, will visit the city-state in Southeast Asia and also Putrajaya (a planned town in Malaysia) from September 22 to 26.
It will then travel to China from October 5 to 9 to study the various city models in the giant Communist nation.
The Government will also constitute the Capital Region Development Authority, headed by the Chief Minister, within a month to execute the capital development plans after the area near Vijayawada was selected to establish the new seat of power for residuary Andhra Pradesh.

"We have visited Gandhinagar, Chandigarh and Naya Raipur to study how those capital cities were built. We will next visit some foreign cities to inspect the models there as well," Narayana told reporters here this afternoon after a meeting of the committee.
"From our observations in Gandhinagar, Chandigarh and Naya Raipur, we have estimated that at least 5,000 hectares of land is required to build the capital. The best model is Chandigarh where they went for land pooling," he said.

Farmers in Chandigarh were given 27.5 per cent of the developed land in lieu of the real estate they parted with for building the capital.

In Gandhinagar and Naya Raipur, farmers got 35 per cent and 40 per cent of the developed land respectively under land pooling as no Government property was available for building those capitals, the Minister said.
It took three years for skeletal development of Naya Raipur in the first phase after Chhattisgarh state was carved out in 2000, he pointed out.
"We, too, are working out a similar land pooling system to involve farmers, whose lands may be needed for capital, in the development process. Our main focus is to ensure good social life in the capital region."
The capital region would have facilities for education, healthcare besides non-polluting industries. "In our next meeting, we will also discuss how economic growth should be in the new capital region," Narayana said.

To a question, he exuded confidence the Centre would provide assistance for the new capital. "Ours is a different case as unlike Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Uttarakhand, we did not want bifurcation. Hence, we are confident the Centre will extend financial assistance for building the capital.