VIJAYAWADA: Aimed at expediting the execution of capital city development works, finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu proposed to allocate Rs 7,741 crore for the AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA and UD) departments. Of the total proposed outlay, the CRDA’s share is around Rs 1,000 crore.
During his address, while presenting the budget on Thursday, Ramakrishnudu said, “Amaravati, the Praja Rajadhani, has entered the crucial phase of construction. Amaravati is the first greenfield city selected as a Smart City. Various infrastructural works costing about Rs 45,000 crore, are being executed by CRDA. I propose an allocation of Rs 7,741 cr for the MA and UD and CRDA.” The latest allocation, the minister observed, was 49 percent higher than that in the 2017-18 outlay of Rs 5,207 crore.
According to information, the State government allotted Rs 457 crore for the Amaravati Capital City Development project, under which the infrastructure in the capital will be developed. “Another Rs 166 crore is proposed to be spent over the land pooling, and Rs 65.6 crore is proposed towards capital region social security fund,” an official from MA and UD department said.
The official further said that the government would release more funds as and when the proposed allocations were used by the CRDA.
It maybe recalled that Union government made no allocations for the construction of Amaravati in the General Budget presented in February, this year. The Union government has released Rs 2,500 crore - Rs 1,500 crore towards capital construction and Rs 1,000 crore for drainage projects in Vijayawada and Guntur - in the last four years.
“The allocation by the State government will help us continue (with) the ongoing works. Since we are expecting another Rs 500 crore from the Union government, it will help us expedite the works. However, we will need a total of Rs 58,000 crore to develop the city we planned,” a top ranking official of CRDA said. The official further said that the CRDA would also use funds from private banks in India, foreign development banks and other sources. “We will start tapping those funds from the next fiscal year,” the official remarked.