HYDERABAD: AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he was actively considering ‘land pooling’ model that was followed in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh to acquire lands in and around Vijayawada to construct the new capital city.
During his one-day visit to Chhattisgarh on Monday, the Chief Minister was all praise for the way the Chhattisgarh government had built Naya Raipur city, its new capital. Recalling that farmers in Chhattisgarh were given 40% of the developed land under land pooling in lieu of the real estate they had parted with for building the capital, Naidu said he was also contemplating a similar model.
Naidu, who was accompanied by a contingent of ministers, officials and businessmen, succeeded in convincing his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh to agree to constitute a Joint Working Group (JPG) The JPG was announced by both, Naidu and Raman Singh, in Raipur on Monday night.
Apart from chief secretaries of both the States, secretaries of various departments would be made members of the JPG. Raman Singh said representatives of trade and industry would also be included. “Both of us have decided to cooperate to keep our respective States on the path of development. We want to improve air, rail and road connectivity between the two States,” he added.
Naidu said he was impressed by the way Naya Raipur was built in a planned manner within a very short span of time amid financial constraints without getting special grants from the Centre. “My guided was useful. I am inspired by the way the Chhattisgarh government is implementing PDS without flaws,” he said. Describing Raman Singh as a pro-poor CM, Naidu said Chhattisgarh has natural resources like iron ore, coal and bauxite. This would pave the way for cooperation between the two States. Chhattisgarh could make use of the ports in AP, he added.
No Polavaram Talk
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh and Naidu made it clear that the issue of construction of Polavaram project did not figure in their discussions as the matter is pending in the Supreme Court.