Donakonda in Prakasam district is the Sivaramakrishna committee's choice for the new capital for Andhra Pradesh, highlyplaced sources told TOI.
The committee prefers multi-locational development of Andhra Pradesh, which means that governmental offices be set up in many cities and not in one city alone, the sources added.
But since the Naidu government wants a capital akin to Singapore with concentration of government of fices and also a hub for investment, the committee has zeroed on Donakonda where barren land is available.
“For a huge city like Singapore a lot of land is required and Donakonda fits the bill,“ sources told TOI.
For the record, members of the Sivaramakrishna committee are still touring the state but have already made up their mind.
The report is likely to be submitted to the GOI in another ten days.
Sources said the committee has identified an axis connecting Srikalahasti in Chittoor to Nadikudi in Guntur as the main potential development belt in Andhra Pradesh.
The committee reportedly is not in favour of a mega Singapore-like capital at Mangalgiri that is between Vijayawada and Guntur. If the capital is located at Mangalgiri, then it has to be merely an administrative capital, like Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
Institutions like the high court and others would have to be allotted to different parts of the state. There is a strong demand for the high court to be located in Visakhapatnam that has the largest bar in Andhra Pradesh.
Rayalaseema, that is the least developed part of Andhra Pradesh, is also demanding special attention and the Sivaramakrishna committee is especially sensitive to the needs of this backward region.
Though ultimately the Naidu government will play the most important part in determining the location of Andhra Pradesh's capital, the Sivaramakrishna committee is important since it has been set up by the GOI which will make the monies available for building it.
The committee had two interactions with Chandrababu Naidu and has come to the conclusion that the CM is interested in building a capital on the lines of Singapore.
A delegation led by Naidu's municipal affairs and urban development minister P Narayana had also called on the Sivaramakrishna committee and communicated the desire for a new capital in the region of Vijayawada and Guntur.
The committee feels that this could be disastrous as it will become like Hyderabad in undivided Andhra Pradesh where everything is concentrated. And in the ultimate analysis, this overdependence led to the bifurcation of the state and now, the birth pangs of a new state.
For the record, Naidu's approach has logic. Concentrating major functions in a mega capital will attract huge foreign investments at a time when GOI's ability to finance the new capital is limited due to paucity of funds.
Source: TimesOfindia
