Even before Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu is sworn in again as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, officials familiar with his priorities have begun reviving his pet projects, which were abandoned during the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Needless to say, Amaravati, the capital city, is one such project that officials are now focusing on. The TDP chief has already announced that he will restore Amaravati to its past glory sooner rather than later.
It may be noted that Jagan had completely halted the capital city works in Amaravati within hours of taking over as Chief Minister in 2019 by stopping all construction and withholding payments to contractors.
Soon after, Amaravati turned into a virtual ghost city. Dense bushes have sprung up on residential and commercial plots in several layouts. Weeds have grown around the multi-storeyed official and residential complexes abandoned midway through construction.
The half-built villas intended for ministers and judges have become havens for stray dogs. Iron rods meant for construction are gathering rust. Internal roads have been dug up in several places, leaving gravel exposed.
Even the 23-km long six-lane seed access road connecting Amaravati to the national highway (NH-16, which connects Chennai to Kolkata), lies in a state of neglect, with huge pipelines for the underground drainage system abandoned on either side.
Now that Naidu has returned to power after five years, the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) officials have started clearing bushes at the site where Modi had laid the foundation stone for the capital city.
They are restoring the road network in Amaravati and improving the lighting system along the seed access road.
However, sources said there are significant technical issues involved in the restoration of the Amaravati project.
“Unless these issues are resolved, the capital city project cannot progress further,” they added.
