AMARAVATHI - THE LORD BUDDHA
The
historical region of Amaravathi, chosen to be the capital city of the
new Andhra Pradesh,
resembles the terrain of 1960s Singapore. But the
attempt is to replicate Amaravati as Singapore in the 21st century, a
commercial island city-state on the Krishna riverfront. But this will
be a mammoth task, given the innumerable hurdles that lie in wait for
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu.
The
bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and residual
Andhra during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime
left many scars on Andhra Pradesh. The split State has a Rs. 17,000
crore budget deficit, with no capital city to call its own. Though
the State machinery has been allowed to function from Hyderabad for
10 years after bifurcation, several departments have had to suffer
step-motherly treatment in the new Telangana regime under its first
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao.
The
bifurcation, which took place ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls,
deeply hurt Telugu pride, but political parties across the spectrum,
in their constant attempts to be politically correct, have not
revealed these wounds. The loss of Hyderabad, or Cyberabad as it was
fondly called, in which Andhra Pradesh has high stakes, was another
blow. It was especially painful for Mr. Naidu, whose efforts to
conceive of and build Hyderabad into a world-class cyber city are
well known.
While
cash-rich Telangana is in celebratory mode on its first birthday, Mr.
Naidu has resolved to have no festivities. Instead, there is going to
be a Nava Nirmana Deeksha or focus on the building of a new State.
Mr.
Naidu apparently wants to turn this adversity into an opportunity by
planning a world-class capital on the banks of the river Krishna.
About 7,068 sq. km have been earmarked for the capital region, of
which 225 sq. km have been dedicated to Amaravathi, the capital city.
In the words of Mr. Naidu, it will not just be “an administrative
capital but an economic driver, a people’s capital, and an
affordable city”.
Amaravathi,
meaning ‘abode of the immortal’, is a small town in Guntur
district, and was specifically chosen by Mr. Naidu to leverage on its
rich 2,000-year-old heritage. It was the capital of the Satavahana
kings between the 2nd and 3rd century BCE — they ruled most of the
country from here — and also an important region for Buddhism.
Mr.
Naidu wants the new capital to be Andhra Pradesh’s pride. “After
the bifurcation, he wanted to develop Amaravathi into a world class
city and a huge metropolis near Visakhapatnam, as a fitting counter
[to Telangana],” said a leader closely associated with the Chief
Minister.
The
people’s response to the government’s intended pooling of around
33,000 acres needed for the capital has been positive, according to
ministers and officials. The government was able to successfully
convince farmers and pool almost half of the land along with
ownership rights. The offer of annuity and developed residential and
commercial land has been received well by several land owners.
