A city (Amaravati) for which 24000 farmers had given up their land. Big investors of the world like World Bank, Lulu Group and even Chinese investors gave money generously. Companies from Singapore and London also designed this city, which included all those facilities which are seen in big countries, but this project which was to be completed in 2024 has become a ruin today. Investors have vowed to never invest in not only the city but the entire state and the price of that land which once used to be up to Rs 2.5 crore per acre.
Future Prospects: Can Amaravati’s Development Goals Be Met?
It has now come down to 60%. We are talking about Andhra Pradesh’s new capital Amaravati, which was to be developed as a green city, but the question is how this dream city has turned into a ruin today due to one man’s arrogance. Who is the real person behind its destruction and how Chandrababu Naidu is going to complete this 10-year project in two and a half years. Let’s try to find out in detail.
After a long struggle due to socio-economic, cultural and language differences, on 2 June 2014, Telangana separated from Andhra Pradesh and became a new state, where people of both states were immersed in celebrations, while on the other hand, there was a plan to build a city that had never been seen in the history of India till date. It was to be built as a global city, which would have the best infrastructure, parks and international trade centers. It was also to be developed as a culture and education hub, in which many great universities and research institutes would be established.
The Necessity of a New Capital: Why Amaravati?
But the biggest question that arises is, why was this new city needed? After the separation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad now came under Telangana which was the capital here before the parties, so it was decided that Hyderabad will be the capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the next 10 years, just like Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Visionaries of the New Capital: Naidu vs. Reddy
However, it was also decided that after 10 years Andhra Pradesh would have to shift its capital to a new city. In such a situation, after this partition, both Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam Party and Jaganmohan Reddy of YSR Congress started dreaming of building a capital in their own way. Naidu wanted a magnificent greenfield city to be built on the banks of Krishna river as the capital, so he chose the fertile fields of Guntur district for this.
Actually greenfield city means a city that is built in a completely new way, that is, it is not built by repairing any old city. Also, while building greenfield cities, environment friendly and sustainable principles are kept in mind so that it remains environment friendly.
But Jaganmohan Reddy was not happy with the place chosen by Naidu. He selected Doma Konda to build this city, which was located 70 to 80 km south of Guntur, where the land was sandy and barren and he felt that this barren area should not be converted into a new city. Development can prove to be better and that is why he started opposing the building of capital in Guna district, because he said that the soil here is very fertile where greenery and trees are present, if it is destroyed and a concrete jungle is made then it will be a great injustice to nature,
Why did Chandrababu Naidu think of setting up a city on fertile land?
Now after considering both these places, you must also be feeling that Jaganmohan Reddy’s decision is probably right but the question arises that why did Chandrababu Naidu think of setting up a city on fertile land, actually there are many benefits of this such as –
1. Setting up a city on the river bank would have provided water base and transportation through it which would have helped in connecting that city with other places and promoting trade
2. Along with this, the beauty of that city would have increased even more and it would have been a beautiful attraction for tourists like Hyderabad
3. Apart from this, Naidu felt that Hyderabad is very far for those people who are living on the other side of the state and because of this these people are completely cut off from the capital, so he thought that the new capital should be built at a place which is in the center of the state and anyone can reach there easily.
4. This place was also special because Guntur city was 32 km from here and Vijayawada was 39 km away and being close to two developed cities would make the development of the capital even faster. In this way both the leaders were working on their own planning.
But there was still a lot of confusion among the people as to whose dream would come true. In the meantime, elections were held and Chandrababu Naidu, after winning, took oath as the Chief Minister. He also started planning to build the capital in Guntur district, where this new capital was named Amaravati. Now the outline of the city was ready, but the most difficult thing was land acquisition because it would have taken at least 4 to 5 years to convince the people and buy the land from them, but this work was done so easily that no one had even expected.
Why did Naidu propose a Land-for-Housing Incentive?
Because Naidu came up with a very good idea in which he proposed to the people that whoever gives one acre of his fertile land will be given a 1250 square feet residence and 450 square feet commercial space in this city, and those whose land is barren will be given a 1000 square feet residence and 250 square feet commercial space.
What Financial Support Was Offered to Landowners During the Capital’s Development?
This was the deal after the city was established. What would happen to the people who were completely dependent on their land for food and drink during the construction work. Thinking about this, NADO offered that the people whose land is fertile will be given ₹50,000 annually for the next 10 years, i.e. the time it was going to take to build the capital, while those with dry land would be given ₹30,000 annually.
Now who would refuse such a good offer, so people themselves started donating their land which was equal to 28000 acres. You can guess its size from the fact that it was an area larger than Chandigarh.
What Were the Reactions of the Poor Farmers to the Amaravati Project?
But this was just one aspect of the story. Yes, it is true that the land owners were very happy with this offer of the government because most of them had settled abroad and were very rich, so this was not their source of livelihood, but this decision to build the city shocked every section of the society, and they also opposed it a lot. Actually, these were some poor farmers who used to earn their living by working as laborers in these fields. Therefore, they protested a lot but it could not gain enough momentum to stop the foundation of Amaravati from being laid.
Well, the story of land acquisition ended, now it was the turn of the city’s infrastructure, so Naidu’s dream was that Amaravati should become a more beautiful city than Hyderabad, but he also wanted to make it an advanced city, for this he hired companies from London and Singapore and all of them together designed the architecture of Amaravati.
What Innovative Features Were Planned for Amaravati?
According to this design, the entire city was to get electricity from solar panels and the concept of water taxi was also kept in it. Even the roads in this city would be of five different types, in which there would be a separate road for public transport, a separate road for pedestrians and a separate road for bikes. This capital was to be built within the radius of 217 sq km,
In which the needs of every person were taken care of. The core capital area would have government offices, cultural institutions and public spaces and it was to be built in such a way that all the residential areas, commercial areas, educational institutions and business hubs of the capital could be easily connected by road and public transport.
What Types of Roads and Districts Were Planned for the City?
A total of nine different districts were to be built in this city, out of which some were sports districts, some were dedicated to media, some were health districts, some were finance, electronics and knowledge districts.
The amazing thing is that underground facilities were also going to be built in this city, which was seen for the first time in India. Amaravati was designed in such a way that 51 per cent of its area would have greenery and 10 per cent of the area would have a reservoir.
What Was the Estimated Budget for Amaravati and How Was Funding Expected to be Managed?
Now the budget for building such a grand city would have been equally big. According to the estimate, it was going to cost 33,000 crores at that time, which would have been completed in the next seven to eight years. But the problem was that where would such a huge amount come from in such a short time. For this, Naidu knocked on every door where he saw the possibility of getting funding.
He even requested Chinese investors and Singapore companies also invested heavily in it.
The World Bank also showed interest in investing 300 million dollars in the Amaravati project. Apart from this, Asian Infrastructure Investment Board and Lulu Group had also joined the Amaravati project. PSUS and State Government also invested. The Central Government gave Rs. 22,500 crores for this project.
Why Did Naidu Begin with Temporary Buildings for Amaravati?
In this way, on 22 October 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the new capital in Amaravati and construction work was started on a very large scale. Naidu was in such a hurry about this project that he did not even start work before laying the foundation of the permanent building. Along with this, they also got many temporary buildings constructed, Temporary Assembly, Temporary High Court and many such institutions were developed,
But the question arises that when permanent buildings had to be constructed, then what was the use of these temporary buildings What do you mean, actually NADO wanted to shift the government offices from Hyderabad to Amaravati as soon as possible, so this work was being done by constructing temporary buildings. During this time the land rates here were also increasing very fast, the price in 2014 was It used to be 15 to 20 lakhs per acre
It had increased to 2.5 crores. Now everything was going according to plan and high-rise buildings and roads were being built very fast. The construction had already begun and Nadu had even started organising Amaravati Yatras in which people from many countries came to see the construction of this green city.
What Led to the Halt of the Amaravati Project Under Jagan Mohan Reddy?
This is such a project Not just Andhra Pradesh but the whole of India was waiting for its completion, but then there comes a twist in the story and this city of dreams turns into ruins, the land with lush crops turns barren and there is only silence here. Tall buildings, incomplete structures, huge scattered pipelines and the debris of Naidu’s dreams lying around in various places. Who has cast an evil eye on this city?
The answer is Jagan Mohan Reddy because Jagan Mohan Reddy won a big victory by defeating Naidu in the 2019 elections and was made the new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. A few days after assuming office, he demolished the house on the river front of Amaravati in which Naidu lived. used to live there,
And along with this the Amaravati project was also stopped and the foreign banks from which Naidu had asked for loan were cancelled by Jaganmohan Reddy. This not only shattered Naidu’s dream but also took away the livelihood of thousands of people. Those who donated their land lost money and those investors also incurred losses who invested in this project,
So the Singapore companies withdrew from this project and the World Bank as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Board withdrew their investment. Funding was withdrawn. Apart from this, Lulu Group took a big decision that from now on it will never invest in Andhra Pradesh. The rest of the investors were also very angry with the government. The result of this was that the real estate prices of Amaravati almost fell. The amount was dropped by 50%. Here, the farmers and land owners were being given Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 annually. Reddy cancelled that too.
After which people came out on the streets and there was a huge protest but all this had an impact on Jaganmohan Reddy. It did not make much difference.
Because they had made up their mind to end Naidu’s greed and for this they could go to any extent because if the Amaravati project was completed then Naidu’s popularity would increase in the entire state which would be a problem for the opposition. It was like a big defeat. Amidst these controversies, Jaganmohan Reddy started handling his government work from Visakhapatnam, which was a sign that he would never let Amaravati settle down. Anyway, days kept passing and the demand for a new capital was also increasing.
What Is the Concept of the Three Capitals Proposal for Andhra Pradesh?
In view of this, in 2020, this government proposed three capitals for Andhra Pradesh, which is also known as the Three Capital Bill. Till now we have heard about two capitals, but this concept of three was not understood by most people. Jaganmohan Reddy’s response to this was that it is very common in countries like South Africa to have three capitals. According to his plan, Visakhapatnam will be the executive capital from where most of the government work will be handled, while Amaravati will be the second capital where the work of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council will be done. And the third capital will be Kurnool which will be established as the judicial capital.
How Would Logistics and Coordination Issues Impact Governance with Three Capitals?
But if we look closely, we find that if these three places are made the capital of Andhra Pradesh, then the biggest problem that would have come up in the beginning was logistics because Visakhapatnam is located on the sea coast and Amaravati is right in the middle of the state, Kurnool is 742 km from Amaravati and 686 km from Visakhapatnam, where it takes 12 to 14 hours to reach and when the administrative work was divided into three places, the government official would have to go from one capital to another again and again,
Not only would a lot of time be wasted in this, but the cost would also increase a lot, there could also be a lack of coordination and communication between departments and government offices, which would have a direct impact on governance.
What Financial and Infrastructure Challenges Does the Three Capitals Proposal Face?
Apart from this, infrastructure development could also become a big problem for building three new capitals because for this, the government would have to acquire land in these two cities and build buildings, roads, housing, health care, education, transport and many such facilities.
Now Andhra Pradesh was already in debt of 99.7 trillion, in such a situation, this idea could have worsened its finances even more, this is the reason why controversies started on this proposal as soon as it was presented.
Along with this, the investors and farmers of Amaravati intensified the movement even more. The opponents filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court regarding this matter, in which the plan of these three capitals was challenged. It was said in the petition that the government has broken the decision to make Amaravati the capital and the commitments made for it.
How Did the Andhra Pradesh High Court Respond to the Three Capitals Proposal?
Investors have invested a lot in Amaravati projects and if this city is not built then what will happen to the thousands of farmers who have donated their land trusting the government, after understanding and considering the whole matter, the Andhra Pradesh High Court put a stay on the three capital plan, and said that a decision has already been taken to develop Amaravati as a capital, after this decision there was a wave of happiness among the people but Jagan Mohan Reddy did not like it, so in November 2022 he appealed to the Supreme Court against this decision of the High Court.
However, this matter is still in the court and no decision has been taken on it, despite this, in January 2023 Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh would be Visakhapatnam, in such a situation, people also gradually started losing hope about Amaravati because with the passage of time its deserted roads and tall deserted buildings were turning into haunted ruins instead of a beautiful city.
Then in the meantime something happened that again brought a sparkle in the eyes of investors and farmers. Actually, elections were held again in 2024 and Chandrababu Naidu won on 4 June.
After this, the discussion about this new city has once again intensified. As far as the fund is concerned, Naidu is trying to contact his investors again.
Can Chandrababu Naidu Fulfill the Amaravati Project in Two and a Half Years?
But will this dream of Amaravati really be fulfilled because there is still fear among the people that if the government changes again, once again Amaravati will be in the same condition as seen in the last five years. Looking at this problem, Chandrababu Naidu has said that this time he will complete the Amaravati project not in five or 10 years but in two and a half years.
If both the governments had worked together on this plan, then this project would have been completed by this year i.e. 2024 and the state would have got its capital. What do you think, will Chandrababu Naidu be able to complete a 10-year project in two and a half years?
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