Amaravati: Andhra's 'Eternal City' that's taking forever to build

Fuelling the hope are Indian Railways’ proposal to construct a railway line connecting Amaravati and nearby towns, Municipal Minister P Narayana’s statement that the capital city will be completed in 30 months, and Naidu’s open invitation to investors on June 27.

A 42-year-old Akula Jaya Satya from Errabalem village predicts a global city will be built in just three years, as per the masterplan which was approved by Naidu in 2017. Jaya is one of the 32,000 farmers who offered land for the construction of Andhra Pradesh’s new capital under a land-pooling scheme (LPS) in 2015.

“Land rates are going up. Now a square yard of residential plot costs ₹40,000 to ₹45,000. I am expecting it to touch ₹1 lakh by December 2024,” she told The Federal. 

Buzz of activity

The Amaravati secretariat, seldom visited by former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his ministers, is now buzzing with activity. Naidu and his ministers are constantly holding review meetings there.

Donations for the capital are pouring in and investors have started meeting the Chief Minister.

Hyderabad-based BasavaTarakam Trust, run by NT Rama Rao's (NTR) family, announced its intention to set up a cancer hospital in Amaravati.

These relatively minor developments, coming in the backdrop of Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) huge electoral victory – both the in Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections – are recreating the image of Naidu as a ‘visionary leader’. One who has the capacity to make his ‘dream city’ a reality.

Farmers call off 4-year agitation

On June 12, the farmers of 24 villages of the capital region called off their ‘Save Amaravati’ agitation following Naidu’s assurance that the city would remain the single capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The agitation began on December 18, 2019, days after Jagan made clear his intention to abandon Amaravati as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh. The farmers were worried that their contribution of land for the mega project would not reap dividends for them if Amaravati lost capital status.

The farmers' unabated protest attracted widespread support from all sections. Finally, it was called off the day Naidu took oath as CM, 1,632 days after protests first started.

Previous setback

People had lost hope when Jagan vowed to shift the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam.

Many pronouncements by the courts in favour of Amaravati as the capital did not revive the hopes of the people since they expected Jagan to return to power in the 2024 Assembly elections.

With Jagan’s YSR Congress reduced to an insignificant 11-member party in the house of 175 in the recent elections, the path to Amaravati appears obstacle-free.

Birth of a capital

When Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated to create Telangana in 2014, the latter took Hyderabad along. Andhra Pradesh thus needed a new capital.

According to a resolution passed by the state Assembly on September 3, 2014, a fertile riverfront area was chosen as a new capital region, since it was centrally located. The locality is where the Kamma caste (Naidu’s caste), who had made it a political hotspot, is concentrated. 

The futuristic city was named 'Amaravati', which translates to 'Eternal City'.

The period between 2014 and 2019 was dominated by Naidu’s attempts to sell the idea of Amaravati as a futuristic, livable and sustainable city. Before it could take off, however, Naidu’s government lost to Jagan's YSR Congress in the 2019 election.

Jagan was keen to shift the capital to a non-Kamma zone. He tried to split the single Amaravati capital into three functions capitals (one each for Legislative, Judicial and Executive purposes) but in vain.

While Naidu’s dream capital got stuck at the design stage, Jagan’s attempt to dismantle it too met with failure.

Meanwhile, the endless politics over the issue forced the World Bank to drop its proposal to fund the project in 2019.

 Amaravati masterplan

In 2015, the government set in motion a land pooling system to gather 38,000 acres from the farmers of 24 villages. Despite court cases and protests by environmentalists, Naidu succeeded in assembling the land parcels, both by persuasion and coercion.

The capital region was designed to cover 8,603 sq km. The Singapore government drew up the overall Amaravati masterplan free of charge.

The masterplan was notified on February 23, 2016. The UK-based Foster & Partners, with well-known architect Hafeez Contractor, prepared a masterplan for the new government complex that includes the Assembly and high court complex along with several secretariat buildings.

According to the Singapore masterplan, Amaravati is planned in a rectangular grid with the north-eastern axis to be developed to allow ‘positive flow of energy’ into the city. A central green hub is planned, which will be known as Brahmastan (Silent Centre) at the heart of the city, around which neighbourhoods are planned.

The city will have seven zoning districts – residential, commercial, industrial, open and recreational, institutional and infrastructure reserves.

It can host a population of 3.5 million by 2050 with an employment potential of 1.5 million jobs. With a gross population density of 16,200, the city, with a 600 km road network, will have parks and public facilities at every 5-10 minutes walking distance.

Theme cities

Amaravati, per the masterplan, will feature nine theme cities within it – Government City, Justice City, Finance City, Knowledge City, Electronic City, Health City, Sports City, Media City and Tourism City.

Thirty per cent of the capital city area is reserved for an Open Space and Recreational Zone, which will include large city parks, lakes, town parks, neighbourhood parks, waterbodies and public plazas. They are planned along the existing canals and waterbodies to play a dual role in flood management and environmental conservation.

To make the city pedestrian friendly, non-motorised transport (NMT) facilities are planned as part of the road network.

For cyclists, pedestrians

Another important feature in Amaravati will be the dedicated spaces for cyclists and pedestrians. The roads will feature a pedestrian zone (1.8 m) and cycle track (2m to 2.5 m) to promote a walk-to-work culture.

The 22 km long River Krishna waterfront, which forms a key asset of the city, will house the iconic core and central business district. Thirteen urban plazas are planned to represent the then13 districts of the state.

The city will be divided into three nodes: Government Node (this node in envisioned to be the vibrant commercial and civic heart of the city housing the state’s new administrative core and city’s CBD), University Node (Identified close to the Neerukonda hill located more centrally for easy connectivity and ample open spaces in its vicinity) and the Tourism Node (near Undavalli caves).

The costs 

In 2017, Amaravati’s total infrastructure development was estimated to cost ₹58,000 crore over a 20-year period. Of this, ₹32,000 crore was the capex estimate for the first three years, primarily for the creation of trunk infrastructure for the entire capital city, government complex and fulfilment of LPS infrastructure obligations.

Amid all the euphoria, till date, there has been no clear policy statement on the capital by Chandrababu Naidu’s new government.

A white paper is expected to be released on the status of the construction of the capital and strategies to execute the project soon.

Till then, the residents of the Amaravati region will subsist on hope.