Naidu scotches speculation over report on new AP capital

Even as talk in the Assembly lobbies peaked on the prospective location of the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu today brushed aside as "speculation" various reports in the media on the report submitted in the matter by the expert committee led by former Urban Development Secretary Sivaramakrishnan.
"We haven't received any report. What all is coming in the media is only speculation," the Chief Minister told newsmen before leaving for Rajahmundry this afternoon.
The Chief Minister, who held a meeting with Ministers in his chambers in the Assembly, was said to have advised them not to speak in different voices on the issue.

"We will take a decision that is beneficial to all," he reportedly told them.
The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet that meets here on September 1 is expected to discuss the capital issue and take a final call in consultation with the Government of India.
The Sivaramakrishnan Committee, appointed by the Centre in March to suggest various options for locating the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday and came up with different options.

State Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, in an informal chat with reporters in the Assembly today, said it was the discretion of the government to take a decision on the location of the capital.

"The Committee is meant only to give suggestions and options. It is for the government elected by people to decide where the capital should be located," Yanamala said.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P Narayana, who is heading a committee appointed by the state government on the capital issue, said the Sivaramakrishnan Committee would also submit a supplementary report to the Centre.
He refuted media reports that the Sivaramakrishnan Committee did not favour Vijayawada-Guntur as the new capital.
"There will be some clarity on the issue after the Cabinet meet on September 1," Narayana added.