Though the central government has made Hyderabad the common capital for Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh states for ten years, Seemandhra leaders believe that the elected government of residuary AP will move to a new capital as early as possible.
While some officials say it could be six months, others say it may be a year. It will all depend on who the first chief minister of residuary Andhra Pradesh will be. According to official sources, the Centre will not decide the capital city for residuary AP. “There is no mention in the Constitution of powers for the Centre to identify a capital city. It is purely the prerogative of the chief minister of the state concerned,” an official said.
Officials of the directorate of town and country planning (DTCP) presented to the sub-committee on capital issues how new capital cities were developed in the country. The information, produced below, is intended to enable the first government of residuary Andhra Pradesh to identify and develop a capital city for the new state.
JAMSHEDPUR: Jamshedpur is the first planned industrial city of the country, founded by the late Jamshedji Nussewanji Tata. Julin Kennedy Sahlin from Pittsburgh, US prepared its first layout. Many areas are well planned and there are public leisure places such as the Jubilee Park. While building the city, Jamshedji Tata had said, “Be sure to lay wide streets to be lined with shade-giving trees, every other of a quick- growing variety and be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens; reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks; earmark areas for Hindu temples, Mohammedan mosques and Christian churches.”
CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh was the first planned city in the country after Independence and is known internationally for its architecture and urban design. It was designed by the French (born Swiss) architect and urban planner Le Corbusier in the 1950s for an area of 114 sq km.
After the Partition of the country, the former British province of Punjab was also split into east Punjab in India and west Punjab in Pakistan. The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore which became part of Pakistan’s Punjab.
Le Corbusier was the second architect of the city after the initial master plan had been prepared by American architect-planner Albert Mayer who worked with Polish-born architect Matthew Nowicki.
The New Capital Plan was conceived as post- war ‘Garden City’ wherein vertical and high-rise buildings were ruled out keeping in view the living habits of the people. The design was analogous to a human body, with a clearly defined head (Capitol Complex, Sector 1), heart (City Centre, Sector-17), lungs (leisure valley, innumerable open spaces and sector greens), intellect (cultural and educational institutions), circulatory system (network of roads, the 7 Vs) and viscera (industrial area).
BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the capital of Orissa in 1948. Because of Cuttack’s vulnerability to floods and space constraints, the capital was moved to Bhubaneswar. The modern city was designed by German architect Otto Konigsberger in 1946. The new capital was built as a modern city with wide roads, gardens and parks.
It was subdivided into units (sectors), each with a high school, shopping centres, dispensaries and play areas. While most of the units (sectors) house government employees, Unit-V houses administrative buildings including the State Secretariat, State Assembly and the Raj Bhavan.
GANDHINAGAR: Gandhinagar was planned in 1965 for a population of 1.5 lakh. The city lies on the west bank of Sabarmati river. To make it a purely Indian enterprise, the city plan was designed by two Indian town planners, Prakash M Apte and HK Mewada, who had apprenticed with Le Corbusier in planning and designing Chandigarh.
The total area of the site is about 14,180 acres including and divided by the river (river area is about 2,000 acres). The city on the western bank is in 10,600 acres of land. Of it, about 1,700 acres along the river front (eroded land, ravines) is left out for riverside development.
Gandhinagar Master Plan was evolved for development of a balanced and healthy community socially as well as economically, as its central theme.
The living areas, work areas and recreational areas have been so inter-related that the time spent by people in commuting to work and back will be minimum.
Thirty sectors, into which the city has been divided, stretch around the central government complex. Each sector has its own shopping and community centre, primary school, health centre, government and private housing. There is a provision for parks, extensive planting and a recreational area along the river giving the city a green garden-city atmosphere.
NAYA RAIPUR: Naya Raipur will be the fourth planned capital city after Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar and Gandhinagar. New Raipur is the upcoming capital of Chhattisgarh being built 17 km away from and in the south-eastern direction of the existing capital Raipur. The project is likely to cost anywhere between Rs 1,500 and 2,000 crore .
Naya Raipur will at once serve as the administrative capital of the state and cater to the infrastructure needs of industry and trade in the region.
Naya Raipur spreads over an area of about 8,000 hectares and it includes 41 villages, of which 27 form the core of the new city. The population of just one village is getting displaced in this renovation of villages for the construction of Naya Raipur.
About half the total acquired land is being used for afforestation, roads, parks, public conveniences, water facilities, canals, green belts, etc. Around 23 per cent of the land will be reserved for educational institutions, government offices and public auditoriums; and 30 per cent for residential and commercial purposes.