VIJAYAWADA: Delay in taking up works for the Amaravati capital city has resulted in 45% rise in construction costs, said Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister P Narayana on Tuesday. He was speaking to mediapersons following the 42nd CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) meeting, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat.
The CRDA approved the release of Rs 8,821.44 crore for laying trunk roads and layouts roads. Narayana explained that of the total, Rs 3,807 crore will be used for land pooling layout roads, Rs 4,521 crore for trunk roads, and Rs 492 crore for bungalows of judges and ministers bungalows. Combined with approvals from the 41st CRDA meeting, the total sanctioned works amount to Rs 20,292.46 crore.
Holding the YSRCP regime responsible for the rise in construction costs, the MAUD Minister pointed out that farmers had voluntarily pooled 33,000 acres for the capital in just 58 days, but the previous government halted progress by proposing three capitals for the State. Between 2014 and 2019, tenders worth Rs 41,000 crore were issued, with works worth Rs 5,000 crore being completed, he noted.
Stating that continuing the works as per plan would have prevented losses to the State government, he said while cost to construct roads has increased by 25-28%, it has surged by 35-55% for buildings. “The price of gravel is expected to escalate by 6%. Schedule of rates has increased by 29%, GST has increased by 6%, and other damages have resulted in 1.6% surge in costs.”
Tenders will be finalised by end of December: Min
Of the 360-km network of trunk roads, approval was given for constructing 97.5 km of trunk roads, and for laying 236 km of layout roads in villages like Nelapadu, Rayapudi, Ananthavaram, and Dondapadu. Additional approvals will be sought during the meeting scheduled to be held on December 16. Subsequently, tenders will be finalised by the end of the year.
The Minister also announced that the State government is making efforts to re-engage Singapore-based firms for developing the capital city.