As the chief bureaucrat of a cash-strapped state, Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao looks to the new capital Amaravati as an investment magnet in the making. As he attends meeting after meeting to get the of one of the functionaries whose job it is to stretch the budget, he
“The people’s mood is upbeat. It is one of hope,” said Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, taking a moment off his busy schedule. “There is no reason why the new capital cannot evolve into a bustling economic driver, a people’s capital and an affordable city, given its vantage location,” he added.
Personally for Mr. Rao, the appeal of Amaravati lies in its hoary past. “If Andhra heritage has to be captured in terms of the capital, then it can either be Amaravati or Vizianagaram, which were the capitals of two great Andhra empires. Amaravati reflects the cultural and historical glory of Andhras and the spread of Buddhism. There can’t be an apt name than Amaravati for the capital,” Mr. Rao said.
The endeavour for the new capital has begun well. Farmers voluntarily came forward to give land under the land-pooling scheme, something never attempted on such a scale anywhere, as they could see a win-win situation, he said.
“It is a rare opportunity for a State to build a virgin capital systematically without being hindered by the limitations of an existing city. The proximity of the capital to river banks and canals expedites its development. It will become an extension of the old cities of Vijayawada and Guntur,” he says.
On resource mobilisation, Mr. Rao sees no issues. Valuable land can be leveraged as a resource and made commercially attractive by developing Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam ports, 100 km from Amaravati. If these ports are developed, the city can well be positioned as the hinterland of great potential on the eastern region. “I see a lot of scope for industrialisation and employment generation. Besides, the surplus money in the region can be invested on commercial enterprises paving for its economic growth,” he said.
Lastly, Mr. Rao sees no point comparing the new capital with Hyderabad. If Hyderabad is unique, so is Amaravati. “Apart from ministerial delegations from Singapore and Japan, ambassadors of some European countries, too, are attending the foundation ceremony. It’s an indication that Amaravati has already caught the imagination of world as an investment destination,” he pointed out.
