The idea of building a separate capital city is despicable because it requires vast stretches of land at exorbitant cost, says social activist and recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award Sandeep Pandey.
“When there is land available between two vibrant cities, Vijayawada and Guntur, we don’t understand why should one indulge in such lavish exercise,” the activist said, speaking to The Hindu , on the sidelines of a roundtable in city on Sunday.
Fertile tracts
“This is not the first time that a State is divided. Take for instance Gujarat; Gandhinagar is constructed next to Ahmedabad, Naya Raipur was constructed adjacent to Raipur: similarly, in case of Andhra Pradesh, just by an additional construction adjoining the already existing cities would have been enough,” reiterated the activist. “This is especially when the land being sacrificed is so fertile, producing diverse crops. Agriculture is primary sector of our economy. To transform farm lands into urban jungle is criminal,” he said.
He said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has the opportunity to create different and meaningful political priorities. Prof. Pandey cautioned Mr. Naidu that his obsession for a grand capital may boomerang. “Separate capital doesn’t seem to be needed. This is not liked by the electorate since he is wasting public money. This can go against him in the next elections; the whole exercise is anti-farmer, anti-poor and anti-people. A poor country like India cannot afford this kind of a luxury. Instead, he should focus on making basic services available to people at the grass root level,” he said.
VIP culture
An advocate of Gandhian simplicity, he wants the existing VIP culture to change. “In a democracy, people’s representatives should be willing to lead a simple life,” he says citing the example of Indrajit Gupta of the CPI who served as the Union Home Minister in the United Front Governments led by Prime Ministers H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral from 1996 to 1998. “Despite being a Home Minister, he never used a government bungalow and chose to lead a simple life,” he said.
