Phase one of Amaravati to cost Rs 48,000-Cr, Metro in second phase: Narayana

AMARAVATI: Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Ponguru Narayana has said that the phase one development works of Amaravati, the state capital, will be completed in the next two and a half years.

He took charge as the State Municipal and Urban Development Minister at the State Secretariat in Velagapudi at 9.06 am on Sunday.

Speaking to media he said that the state capital Amaravati was designed and implemented to make it one of the top five best capitals in the world. He said that with the help of the Singapore Government, the best design was created and implemented so that all the districts of the State could develop financially.

He said that he also visited Singapore, China, Japan, Russia, Malaysia, and other countries to create the best design for the state capital. In the first phase of construction, the then Government undertook construction of buildings for ministers, secretaries, officials, and employees, along with infrastructure covering a majority of the area in the capital.

Narayana mentioned that works worth Rs. 48 crore were started by calling tenders and an amount of Rs. 9 crore was spent. He said that 90 percent of the construction of buildings for the residence of ministers, secretaries, officers, and employees had also been completed.

“When the land pooling was notified on January 1, 2015, the farmers handed over 34,000 acres to the Government without any litigation by the midnight of February 28, 2015,” he recalled. He said that the previous Government neglected the development of the capital.

Thanking Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for reposing faith in him and giving the charge of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Narayana said that clarity would come in the next fifteen days and people would also be informed about what would be completed in what time.

Replying to questions the minister said that the master plan prepared in the past for the development of the capital would be implemented. The development of Amaravati was planned and implemented in three phases. In the first phase Rs 48,000 crore would be spent.

“In the first phase, the construction of the city would be completed and in the second phase, the construction of the metro rail will be taken up.

Earlier, Narayana took charge as the State Municipal and Urban Development Minister at the State Secretariat in Velagapudi at 9.06 am on Sunday. He took charge as the state minister amid chants of Vedic pundits in the chamber allotted to him in the second block ground floor of the Amaravati Secretariat. He arrived at the state secretariat along with his wife to take charge as a minister and was welcomed with flowers by Vedic scholars and officials.

State Municipal and Urban Development Department Special CS Y.Sreelakshmi, AP C.R.D.A Commissioner Vivek Yadav, Additional Commissioner Katta Simhachalam, Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar, and Chief Engineer of CRDA N.V.R.K. Prasad, were also present.