(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The panel in its 19-page submitted to the Union Home Ministry suggested development of three zones to house various government offices and institutions.The report of the K C Sivaramakrishnan committee appointed by the Federal Government to identify locations to set up a new capital for Andhra Pradesh should come as a dampener to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s dream of establishing the capital city in the Vijayawada-Guntur stretch.
The committee which visited various locations in the residuary state over several months has suggested in its report that the Martur-Vinukonda-Donakonda region would be the ideal location for the new capital. A railway station already exists in Vinukonda on the Bangalore-Guntur railway line and it is an important point on the proposed Kalahasti-Nadikudi section.
The panel in its 19-page submitted to the Union Home Ministry suggested development of three zones to house various government offices and institutions. These zones include the Visakhapatnam sub-region in North coastal Andhra the Rayalaseema Arc comprising Kurnool Anantapur Hindupur and Chittoor and the Kalahasti spine which run alongside the proposed railway project from Kalahasti to Nadikudi.
For Naidu who had announced Vijayawada as the temporary capital till a new city was established the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan committee virtually shuts the door on his dream project of making the Vijayawada-Guntur stretch the seat of power.
Though the final call on the location of the new capital rests with the state government the objections raised by the committee on Naidu’s choice can’t be ignored.
The committee pointed out that building a capital city in the Vijayawada-Guntur stretch would destroy the natural eco-system and agriculture in that area. “There are no significant traits of land in Krishna and Guntur districts which are uncultivated or degraded forest land. Only Mangalgiri and Gannavaram (near Vijayawada) have small contiguous parcels of land” the committee observed in its report adding that the reasons for limiting efforts to locate the capital and government offices only to central Andhra were not clear.
Stating that the Martur-Vinukonda-Donakonda stretch was connected by a state highway from Guntur via Narsaraopet proceeding towards Kurnool the committee said the highway could be upgraded to National highway. “The committee feels that prima facie the sites of Martur and Vinukonda merit further examination by the AP government as both these places have more than 5000 hectares of wasteland” the committee said in its report.
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