Andhra Pradesh to dump capital plan for Amaravati?

VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh municipal minister Botsa Satyanarayana on Tuesday hinted that the state may be looking beyond Amaravati for a new capital. He refused to elaborate on the issue saying that the government would soon come out with an announcement on the future of Amaravati which would answer all questions.
“If construction in other areas costs Rs 1 lakh, it costs Rs 2 lakh in Amaravati.This is a huge waste of public money. Moreover, if there are heavy rains, low-lying areas would be prone to flooding. We need to construct separate drains or small dams to protect people from floods in Amaravati. Discussions are on. We would take all these factors into consideration and announce our policy soon,” Satyanarayana said.
When asked about some YSRCP leaders saying Donakonda in Prakasam district was an alternative to Amaravati, the minister quipped: “Donakonda or Anaconda-like statements are not correct. The report of Sivaramakrishnan committee, which was constituted to suggest suitable place to build the capital city of AP, had already predicted the current situation. The government has been examining the conditions,” Satyanarayana said, adding: “I have never mentioned any place as an alternative to Amaravati.”
‘CM Jagan’s hatred towards TDP hurting people’
Reacting sharply, TDP’s Vizag South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar said chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s hatred towards TDP was hurting the people.
“Former CM N Chandrababu Naidu envisioned a world-class capital for the people of AP and wanted to make Amaravati a benchmark for other capital cities. Without giving any thought to the prospects of AP, the government is withdrawing all projects implemented by the TDP government, including Amaravati, as the credit would go to Chandrababu Naidu,” Ganesh Kumar said.
Recently, the World Bank had dropped its $300 million funding for construction of Amaravati and Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) had also exited the project.
Doubts over Amaravati’s future, which is touted as the largest Greenfield capital city in the making, started soon after the change in regime. The TDP government had acquired about 33,000 acres through land pooling from the farmers of the region. The then state government estimated that it would cost about Rs 50,000 crore to construct the new capital. Uncertainty over the project has also led to land prices in the capital region dipping sharply in the last two months.