Vijayawada: Falling short of space to set up state offices, the Andhra Pradesh government is contemplating to use private engineering colleges around Vijayawada city for the purpose.
As per the Engineering Colleges Association, there was nil admission to four engineering colleges and there is 10 lakh square feet space in these institutions. It is learnt that there is sizeable vacant space in another four colleges near the city.
Now, many of the government employees are evincing interest to work from Vijayawada but there is only 2 lakh square feet vacant space available in the city.
In this backdrop, the government has decided to use space in vacant colleges also and already one private engineering college at Ibrahimpatnam has been occupied. "It is just 20 minutes drive from the city and the government would provide bus facility for the staff," said an official.
The government needs up to 7 lakh square feet more for setting up state offices and 2 lakh square feet space is available at Medha IT Park. The government has plans to occupy 1 lakh square feet space at a private complex on Mahatma Gandhi Road.
The government has plans to some space at the mirchi yard in Guntur but the employees are reluctant to work from any other locations except Vijayawada city and its surroundings. Eliciting opinions from all others, the government has decided to occupy space in private engineering colleges on Gannavaram and Ibrahimpatnam, adjacent to the city.
AP Private Engineering Colleges Association president Gadde Rajalingam said colleges are suitable for setting up offices. "There is ample space on the premises of the colleges," he added. Space crunch has been a big problem for the government to deal with since the day Vijayawada-Guntur has been chosen as the capital region area of Andhra Pradesh.
