The visit of a high-power committee headed by Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P. Narayana and School Education Minister Ghanta Srinivasa Rao to West Godavari district for identification of government lands for setting up premier educational institutions has raised hopes on the prospects of the hitherto sleepy district.
Minister for Endowments P. Manikyala Rao and Minister for Women and Child Development Peethala Sujatha, who hail from the district, on Tuesday visited Tadepalligudem along with the committee members. They went around an abandoned airstrip, which was built on the outskirts of Tadepalligudem during the British rule, and Dr. YSR Horticulture University at Venkataramannagudem. District Collector Katamneni Bhaskar apprised the committee of the availability of government lands in both places.
According to the Collector, some 600-odd acres housing the airstrip has been identified near Tadepalligudem. However, a major chunk of the airstrip has been encroached upon, with the government itself having allowed clusters of colonies and a PG centre of Adikavi Nannaya University to come up. Apart from encroachments and official allotments by the government, an extent of 250 acres is still available in the area.
Meanwhile, Horticulture University authorities informed the committee that only 250 acres had been allotted to the PG centre. Incidentally, the government has not kept its promise to allot 1,400 acres of forest land for the expansion of the university. Consequently, the proposal to set up a floriculture project as an extension of Horticulture University has failed to take off for want of land, the authorities said.
For the record, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to the district had reiterated his commitment to give top priority to West Godavari in his development agenda. Aikya Vedika, a civil society organisation, has highlighted the need to develop the stretch between Hanuman Junction to Tadepalligudem into a hub of educational institutions. In the wake of the government’s decision to set up as many as 11 premier educational institutions in various districts post-bifurcation, the committee’s visit offers a silver lining, as the district has found itself at the receiving end in terms of development.
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