Amaravati Gets Mass Transport Plan, 250-Metre Assembly Spire Proposal Cleared
The directions came at the 66th capital region development authority (CRDA) meeting that he chaired at the secretariat on Friday.
Vijayawada:Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asked officials to prepare a comprehensive mass transportation plan for Amaravati, linking the capital with Vijayawada, Guntur and other adjoining areas to meet future mobility needs.
The directions came at the 66th capital region development authority (CRDA) meeting that he chaired at the secretariat on Friday. Several major proposals for Amaravati were approved at the meeting.
The CRDA decided on the construction of a 250-metre-high spire tower and lifts atop the new assembly building at an estimated cost of `661 crore. Naidu asked the officials to explore the introduction of a viewpoint in the assembly building and said the spire should become a distinctive attraction at the seat of democracy.
He also stressed that the assembly, high court and secretariat towers, along with the Quantum Towers and BITS Pilani buildings, should emerge as distinctive landmarks of Amaravati.
The meeting decided to invite tenders worth Rs 1,548 crore for infrastructure development in LPS zones across 29 capital villages. It also approved recommendations of the ministerial committee for allotment of land for hotels and schools.
The CRDA meeting also approved payment of annuity to farmers holding less than one acre in the second phase of land pooling.
The Chief Minister directed the AP capital region development authority to ensure that 50 per cent of Amaravati has sustainable green cover, while protecting its biodiversity. He called for extensive plantations, including flowering species, and asked officials to prepare a blueprint to develop the hills and water bodies in the capital region as major attractions.
Naidu called for an extensive national and international publicity campaign to establish Amaravati as a globally recognised city.
Referring to an incident in Ladakh where a child recognised a biker from Andhra Pradesh and asked whether he was from Amaravati, he said it reflected the growing focus to the capital's name in public minds.
He suggested promoting Amaravati around five themes — zero electricity poles, blue-green development, deep technology, green energy and sustainability — so that every citizen would identify with it as “my city”.
The Chief Minister also called for a study of future revenue models to make Amaravati a self-financing city and directed that a committee be constituted for the purpose. He said Amaravati would eventually evolve into a mega city encompassing the Vijayawada, Guntur, Mangalagiri and Tadepalli corporations.
Urban development minister P Narayana, chief secretary Sai Prasad and senior officials from the municipal administration, finance, industries and infrastructure, CRDA and APCRDA departments attended the meeting.
