It’s official. Vijayawada and the surrounding VGTM (Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali and Mangalagiri) region will be the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. The city happens to be a vital rail-road junction besides having air and port connectivity.
Stating this in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly at 11.10 a.m. on Thursday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said, “The Cabinet has decided on Sept.1, 2014 to locate the capital city in a central place of the State around Vijayawada and to go for decentralised development with three mega cities and 14 smart cities.”
Land pooling
For the acquisition of land, the government will go for pooling system to be worked out by the Cabinet sub-committee, he added.
The announcement was not a smooth affair for Mr Naidu as the Opposition felt the government was favouring a section of people and insisted on a debate. Irate opposition members forced adjournments.
YSR Congress party, the main Opposition, felt the capital should be located where over 30,000 acres government land was available so that public utilities including housing for common man may not be an expensive affair. However, the YSRCP chief Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy said he would support Naidu’s decision.
Promises galore
Mr Naidu announced sops for each district that may warrant an outlay of over Rs. 5 lakh crore altogether according to industry estimates. Three international airports at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati and nine regional airports in different districts are on the anvil.
