VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said Amaravati will take shape in the next three years, after which construction will continue in autopilot mode.
The New Indian Express Editor Santwana Bhattacharya paid a courtesy call on the Chief Minister at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
During the informal conversation, the Chief Minister outlined his vision for the new State capital.
Amaravati is shaping up to be the most planned, beautiful and liveable city in the world, he said.
He has set a three year deadline to complete government buildings. Once that is done, Amaravati will expand on autopilot, just like other cities.
Naidu said the state is taking cooperation from the Singapore government for Amaravati’s construction.
The city is being envisioned as “Hyderabad plus”, on the lines of how Cyberabad developed. Like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Amaravati’s economy will also grow through migration, he added.
Referring to former Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s opposition to Amaravati, Naidu said, “God has given me another chance. I will not let it down.” Despite funding and other challenges, he asserted that construction of the capital will not stop.
“There are hills all around, the Krishna River next to it. Three lakh acres of farmland surrounds the city. Just imagine. You have not seen such a fresh city anywhere else in the world,” the Chief Minister said.
‘TDP fully backs delimitation’
Recalling his experience with Cyberabad, Naidu said he faced difficulties with water and electricity then. “Now I do not have those problems,” he noted. He also said the Polavaram project is a priority, and irrigation projects across the State are being built to safeguard it from water shortages.
On delimitation, Naidu said his party fully supports delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies and One Nation One Election. If the number of seats is increased by 50 percent in each state, no injustice will be done to anyone, he said.