Seemandhra capital: Amravati is flavour of the week

Real estate circles in Andhra Pradesh are all atwitter as every week there is news that one place or the other would be the new capital of the residuary Andhra Pradesh.  A few days back, it was the turn of Amaravati, located on the banks of the River Krishna and 35 kms from Guntur, to hit the headlines.

The truth of the matter is that various sites are being considered for the construction of its new capital. Ramana Rao, President of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India), told pbytes there has been no formal announcement on this matter. He said that the Sivaramakrishan Committee will come out with its report before August. The Committee is evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of various sites. Rao said that the central and state governments would make the decision based on the report by the Sivaramakrishnan Committee, with the final say going to the state government. “One thing is sure,” he said, “the new capital would be within a 40 km to 50 km radius of Vijayawada.”

The five-member Sivaramakrishnan Committee set up by the central government has been mandated to recommend a site for the capital of the residuary Andhra Pradesh. The Committee has been evaluating places on various criteria, which includes ample water, land and other natural resources. Connectivity, among others, is another important factor which the committee will be looking into. According to the grapevine, the Committee has been looking at a number of places. Insiders said that Amaravati which is located between two key cities – Vijayawada and Guntur – has been high on the Committee’s priority list. One top official has been quoted as saying that Amaravati is being considered and many big ticket developers and corporate have already envisaged interest.

The government land in this region, between the River Godavari and the River Krishna, is estimated to be more than 25,000 acres. This will be a big plus point as the government can avoid acrimonious and long drawn out land acquisition battles. In addition to this, the other big positive is that the region has ample water.

A bit about Amaravati: Currently it is better known as a tourist town and was once the capital of the Satavahana dynasty. The place is a part of the Buddhist circuit and has a number of Buddhist relics as well as a stupa which was built during the reign of Emperor Ashoka.

Amaravati falls under the ambit of the VGTM-UDA (Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali and Mangalagiri – Urban Development Authority) and has all the parameters to be developed into a world class metro, this would also include a brand new airport which is estimated to require 5,000 acres.

According to reports, the government has apparently been considering a public private partnership model in the construction of the capital and the government will put up the land as its stake in the venture.

The government plans to develop industrial, health and Information Technology parks at Agiripalli near the Gannavaram airport, Mangalagiri and Bapulapadu.

According to earlier reports, the speculations were on Mangalagiri as the state capital. There are two reasons for this change to Amaravati. The first being that land prices had gone through the roof in Mangalagiri, with land costing over INR 14 crore per acre.

Rao said that closer to the Vijayawada Guntur Highway the prices were very high and dropped as one went further interior. He was of the opinion that this is just speculation and will not hold.

The second reason for moving away from other sites could be that most of the land on this belt is rich agricultural land and is owned by private individuals. This might lead to acquisition problems and thereby delays.

It is understood that the government is already planning to link mandals in Krishna districts with those in Guntur district, on either side of the River Krishna by an eight-lane bridge. This bridge is likely to come up between Nandigama in Krishna district and Achampet mandal in Guntur district. Another bridge has been planned between Amaravati and Kanchikacherla in Krishna district. The connectivity between Amaravati and Vijayawada will also be improved with the construction of a bridge between Mangalagiri and Gollapudi, a government official told media.

Sources said that beside government land, private land holdings will also be acquired if the need arises and that the compensation packages are being worked out.

Nina Varghese for IndiaProperty.com

By: indiaproperty.com