AMARAVATI "THE CAPITAL OF ANDHRA PRADESH"- FUTURE VISION

AMARAVATI "THE CAPITAL OF ANDHRA PRADESH"- FUTURE VISION

AMARAVATI- It's a dream project of Telugus, got the attention of Telugus living across the globe and even many other nations. Thanks to the uncompromising vision of Chief Minister Sri. Chandrababu Naidu Garu (CBN), the entire road map of capital is being highlighted everywhere, and no wonder "AMARAVATI" is  talk  of world in no time.

LAND POOLING:

The selection of location for establishing capital city  is prerogative of people's elected  Government. Existing infrastructure i.e., Vijayawada & Guntur cities, presence of two National Highways, Existing Airport & Rail hub, Krishna River, central location of state coupled with historical importance, made the present location natural choice and even the opposition parties had left with no choice than accepting the  selection without criticism.

The land pooling system adopted by the state is very unique model,  acceptable to farmers as it sounds good economic proposition in short term and looks even more attractive for people who believe in CBN vision. It is backed up by stable administration in the state irrespective of parties in power i.e., CBN carried the programs of Chenna Reddy & Other Congress CMs, YSR completed the projects conceived by CBN & so on. As the land pooling system is very transparent, opposition parties have no major issues to highlight and trying to make their presence felt through very few disgruntled individuals, but with no success.

The land pooling in proposed core capital area is the most crucial phase of leveraging and it is being handled with meticulous planning. CRDA office in each village manned by Dy Collector, Tahsildhar etc , literally brought revenue dept to doorstep of farmers, resulting in over 90% land agreements. It is appropriate for opposition parties to come forward voluntarily and support the Government in this noble cause. All the options to rope in left out farmers voluntarily are to be explored before imposing land acquisition. The existing two/three types package in land pooling shall be made into single package, as all the farmers came forward and irrespective of the land classification the future usage will be the same. Also the single package will address the equity issues, as most of the dry land farmers are economically poor and also belongs to weaker sections. 

There are some doubts that the core capital will be implemented in three phases in a time frame of 15 years. This model may prove fatal and create unrest among farmers, as the development will not be uniform and there will be huge variation in real estate prices. Instead the infrastructure development can be done in entire area, the proposed nine activity based cities such as education, health, law, knowledge along with administrative buildings shall be taken up in spread out area covering entire core capital zone. This will balance the socioeconomic -political dynamics and leave no stones unturned to opposition. It is unfortunate to see the culture of crop destruction prevailing in Rayalseema region is being spread into AMARAVATI, needs to be strongly condemned and guilt are to be punished severely irrespective of their political affiliations.

NEW CAPITAL CITY:

Building a new capital city is a great opportunity and such opportunities rarely come. In India it came in the form of Chandigarh in 1950, Nayya Raipur in 2002 and Navi Mumbai (largest planned city in the world) from 1972 mainly to congestion of Mumbai. One may be surprised to know that Chandigarh built with the support of French architect in 1950-60, is the second best planned city in the world , next to Singapore. The other best planned cities include Zurich, Seoul, Copenhagen, Washington DC, Amsterdam, Brasilia & Paris. The urban planning of Chandigarh consists of sectors (800 m x 1200 m each) with inter connectivity, designed to accommodate population of one million. Incidentally Chandigarh is built on 28000 acres (114 Sq Kms) land, almost the size of proposed "AMARAVATI".

GLOBAL VISION:

It is appropriate for a leader who thinks much ahead of times, to explore possible engagements with Asian giants like Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, China. Major presence of Singapore companies in Dubai, China with proven track record in world class master planning became natural choice to develop AMARAVATI master plan. However due diligence is essential to engage these companies further, as some of their earlier engagements in AP are proved to be dubious. Nayya Raipur, Dehradun and Ranchi (the new capital cities), the development is on limited scale even after 12 years, mainly due to sole dependence on GOI funding. The limitations in this model, made AP to look for better options and decided to go for a sustainable business/revenue model through leveraging/partners in engagement.

Everyone has to understand that AMARAVATI does not belong to any party, any individual, any caste, creed and religion. It is TELUGUS heritage, culture, history, being rebuilt as people's capital "AMARAVATI". Requesting one and all to be part of this auspicious and historic event and leave cherished memories for our future generations.

OPERATIONAL ISSUES:

The capital city of AP will be coming in 31 villages covering about 30000 acres (210 Sq Kms) land.  Vijayawada is about 12 Kms & Guntur 24 Kms in two different directions and once AMARAVATI is fully developed, these existing cities may become suburbs of the capital and also play vital role in meeting most of the requirements including unskilled/semiskilled manpower of capital city. In normal master planning about 60% area will be plotted area (different uses) & 40% will be towards roads, green spaces, public utilities such as schools, healthcare, drainage etc. With the type of developments envisaged  in AMARAVATI , the plotted area may reduce to 50% of the total land i.e., 15000 acres. Out of this around 8000 acres ( 6800 acres residential & 1200 acres commercial) will be plotted developed land in farmers pool and balance 7000 acres will be in State Government pool.  

State Government may have to allocate about 1400 acres( 20%) of land to meet residential requirements of its 40 to 50% staff, and to meet requirements of weaker sections/ low income group housing. The balance land will be allocated to meet State infrastructure, GOI buildings, Education, Healthcare facilities etc. As the state is planning to develop AMARAVATI as knowledge city, it has to attract world class software , financial services, Start-ups,  very high end research and high precision manufacturing facilities by providing them lands at concessional rates linking up with jobs creation. Also it is important to identify local talent pool and market the same to create confidence among potential investors. Allocation of land to farmers is very complicated, as already promises are made to accommodate farmers allocation nearer to their lands and within the same village. The profile of farmers include landless, land area extent in pooling starting with 10 cents to 30 acres. Some of them particularly small farmers are very possessive of their plot even it is too small and will have plans to go for construction for rental income (socio-economic security) instead of pooled development of townships. Some may prefer independent bungalows and others mid range family managed apartment complexes. Similar complex situations may arise in commercial plots allotment too.

All these issues are to be factored in while fine tuning the master plan. It is more logical to map the Government plotted land spread across total area in clusters based on activity based cities and the farmers plotted lands can be facilitated to meet housing & commercial needs of the activity based cities. Independent housing, small size row houses/plots, apartment plots ranging from minimum of 1 acre to the range of 100 acres and similar portfolio in commercial plots may  satisfy the farmers to large extent. It is important to involve stakeholders  while finalizing the master plan, so that they understand the implications and have to convince them by sharing the advantages of larger developments rather than individual/smaller developments. It is even better if few opinion leaders from all sections are taken on exposure visits to few cities and facilitate their interactions with cross section of people living and working in those cities.

PEOPLE PARTICIPATION:

The decision to built new capital city "AMARAVATHI" adjacent to right bank of Prakasam Barrage ayacut, with panoramic view of backwaters & Indrakiladri hills with divine presence of Goddess KANAKADURGA is taken by Government and all required clearances are being obtained. It is essential for everyone at this stage to come out of the myth that highly fertile lands are being converted into real estate, farmers were forced to alienate their lands, polluting Krishna river etc and offer constructive suggestions and be part of the mission. No mission is 100% perfect, it is in our hands to make it happen with peak satisfaction levels. The responsible political parties, civil society have to offer alternatives, suggestions to ensure transparency & accountability. The evolution of Government is through democratic process and it will give utmost importance to public opinion and ensure that people's conceived, built & own capital is in place.

It is a proven fact that the civilization evolve around water and AMARAVATI will be no exception to it.  The concerns related to water allocation to Krishna delta due to growing demand for capital city, river pollution as the capital is coming on upstream are very relevant and needs immediate attention. Krishna ayacut villages  are protected by raised earthen dam (Karakatta) built based on the peak flood levels. It is wise on the part of Government to avoid any habitations coming there to ensure safety of people as well as to avoid river pollution. This part of capital city can be green spaces, theme parks etc with minimum garbage/affluent generation ( Very similar to 111 G.O protecting Osmansagar & Himayatsagar near Hyderabad). Desilting of Prakasam barrage storage, Resolving the issues related to Pulichintala, completion of Polavaram and diverting Godavari waters to Krishna are very important issues before Government to address the above concerns. Conservation measures to ensure optimum utilization of Kondaveeti Vaagu with in core capital region is wiser move to meet most of the AMARAVATI water requirements.

The major constraint for people to move into new capital area is its unfavorable climate. It is important to finalize the master plan immediately, go for marking of the roads and take up avenue plantations with selective trees which can give shade, conserve water and reduce humidity. Area specific fast growing species are to be identified and targeted approach with clear action plan has to be in place.

INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT:

It is wise & certainly not an over ambitious move on the part of our visionary CM to think & develop an international standard  capital city "AMARAVATI". Here the famous phrase " THINK GLOBAL BUT ACT LOCAL " and its relevance to the present context shall not be ignored. Take the case of Singapore, no doubt its one of the world leading economies, but realities are something different. Huge rentals, cost of services, cost of living make the city beyond reach for below middle class and poor and for middle class it is leaving a bitter feeling of hard work with no savings for future.

India being true democracy, we cannot ignore the cross section of people and inclusive development. The capital city will have low income group working as class IV employees, domestic help, drivers etc, small time vendors, families from rural areas coming to city for children education, other than white collar professionals & businessmen. The Government have to step in to ensure affordable housing, affordable rentals to properly  accommodate all sections of people. This will be possible only through state intervention from the planning stage. This affordable housing shall have sanitation and other infrastructure facilities matching with others housing and it shall be spread across the city, so that these people's services are affordable and within reach for middle& above income groups. The education institutions, health facilities shall be designed in such a way that quality services are provided at affordable cost to all sections. This will be possible through public private partnerships ( Government providing Infrastructure free or nominal cost) & Governments engaging with cooperative housing societies etc  with proper inbuilt design of inclusiveness.

PERSPECTIVE MASTER PLAN:

As part of master planning the housing clusters shall be provided with sufficient land with infrastructure for people from villages to bring vegetables, fruits, milk, rice, other Agri produce and sell directly to customers. The facility shall be extended to small traders and other service providers, so that the customers will get goods and services at affordable prices, as the infrastructure facilities are made available at no or little cost to the vendor/farmer. The well connected metro trains/ speed trains/shuttles, bus facilities from Vijayawada, Guntur  to AMARAVATI, connecting all villages and other towns shall have facilities for farmers/traders to bring their produce to capital & go back to their respective places with convenience at affordable cost. Affordable/Concessional fares and convenient timings will ensure that many people commute to capital city to work and go back. This will certainly reduce congestion and reduce burden on civic services in capital, so that the city can be maintained as a green city/smart city/dream city/model city. As it was observed this inclusive development is one element certainly missing in Singapore or other western models and I feel it cannot be ignored in our context.  
 

"AMARAVATI" is branded as people's capital and it's true spirit is exhibited through programmes like collecting water & soil from entire state, sacred places including Parliament, bricks contribution, personal invitations for foundation function with new clothes to farmers participating in land pooling are some of the moves in people's participation. I am sure many such initiatives will be planned in every stage to make "AMARAVATI" as true people's city.

The detailed planning shall have sectors/zones with mix of low/medium/high rise residential areas, commercial centres, amenities, proposed activity based cities uniformly spread across the core capital zone. To make the city more unique,  each sector can have a different theme based architecture, appropriate colour combinations, conceptual gardens  etc. All residential zones shall be linked completely to commercial/entertainment/school/healthcare zones with cycle/trolley tracks to reduce usage of vehicles.

STRATEGIC PLAN

AMARAVATI shall be planned as an 100% green city (green ratings may vary) and the elements of green concepts like usage of local materials, environmental protection, designs to capture 100% light, air etc, optimum utilization of natural resources like solar power, rain water harvesting, water recycling etc are to be made mandatory. The present green building rating which is more favorable to multinationals in terms of ACs, Glasses, materials etc needs critical review and what is real green in Indian context is too be highlighted and let our new capital set an example to Nation to implement smart cities. The capital city shall be ensured with 100% power and water supply without interruptions. Digging of bore wells, individual generators for power backup shall be avoided to the extent possible to ensure water conservation and to reduce air pollution. The emergency backup shall be planned at zonal levels with community participation.  
   

The rules/regulations applicable in capital area shall be made mandatory in CRDA & other urban extensions, so that the new cities will have a different outlook. The layout concept shall be made compulsory for all lands so that the real estate will become level playing field for everyone. For example a piece of one acre land naturally converted into residential zone, when apply for plan is getting FSI on complete land, as against 60% on plotted land. This is also one reason for some people not coming forward for land pooling.

Lost but not the least and in fact the most important is to exhibit transparency at every level. It is very important to review at this stage, capture the experiences, rework on operational strategy to make the process more transparent & accountable.

ENTIRE STATE JOIN HANDS TO REALIZE THE VISION "AMARAVATI" BY JOINING THE MISSION "AMARAVATI".

B G Reddy -9866889246

grbonthu@gmail.com