Vijayawada to be ad hoc capital of Andhra Pradesh

New capital should be unique and slum-free: Naidu

The Prakasam barrage on the Krishna is a landmark of the emerging power centre of Vijayawada. Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to have an ad hoc capital at Vijayawada until the needed infrastructure and other projects for the new capital are completed.

At a meeting with members of the advisory committee on Capital City at the Lake View Guest house here on Tuesday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asked them to see that the ad hoc capital will house key administrative offices during the interregnum.

A delegation from McKinsey made a presentation, ‘Vision for A.P. Capital’, at the meeting which was attended by Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana, chairman of the committee, and members, industrialists Srini Raju, G.V. Sanjay Reddy, M. Prabhakar Rao and S. Bommidala.

Mr. Naidu is keen that at least six key departments are shifted to Vijayawada in the next few months and asked officials to scout for buildings close to Gannavaram airport.

As for the new full-fledged capital, he asked the committee members to chalk out a master plan, which should become the “talk of the world” and emerge as an important tourist destination. He said the new capital should be unique and slum-free. He wanted the share of flora and fauna to be 60 per cent in the proposed capital city, according to a release here.

The Chief Minister said there should be equal distribution of social infrastructure facilities like schools and hospitals. He also asked the committee to study land distribution for governmental, residential and cultural purposes in the new capital.

He advised them to visit and study other Indian cities like Chandigarh, New Raipur, Navi Mumbai and Gandhinagar before this month-end. They have been asked to take cues from global cities like Brasilia, Singapore, Putrajaya (Malaysia) in building A.P.’s capital city and complete their tour of South East Asia, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Middle East and by October end.

The release said Mr. Naidu recalled how the former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, praised Hyderabad’s e-governance and technology initiatives during the latter’s visit to the city.