Amaravati: From ghost city to model city Premium

Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s return as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has given new life to his dream project, Amaravati. The city, which had been abandoned after he lost the 2019 Assembly elections, is poised to reclaim its status as the capital.

Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s return as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has given new life to his dream project, Amaravati. The city, which had been abandoned after he lost the 2019 Assembly elections, is poised to reclaim its status as the capital.

As Chief Minister in 2014, Mr. Naidu had planned to build a modern, sustainable city along the banks of the Krishna river. His government drafted plans and enlisted the help of Singapore-based companies. Mr. Naidu, who has always expressed his admiration for Singapore, was keen to build a similar city that balanced economic growth, environmental sustainability, and high living standards. The State Assembly passed a resolution to locate the capital in the centre of the State.

The initial vision documents aimed to make Amaravati one of the top three liveable cities in the world with more than 50% green cover. With a capital area of 217 sq km, Amaravati was to house a government city, justice city, finance city, knowledge city, health city, sports city, media/culture city, electronics city, and tourism city.

The cornerstone of the city’s development was the land pooling scheme under which 29,966 farmers contributed approximately 34,400 acres of land to the Naidu government. In return, they were promised annuity payments, residential and commercial plots, and social benefits such as loan waivers and pensions. The government envisaged an inclusive development which would benefit those who had contributed land and foster community support for the project.

However, the progress of the project was disrupted in 2019 when Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress Party came to power and introduced his controversial ‘three capitals’ plan — Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital, and Kurnool as the judicial capital. Mr. Reddy halted construction in Amaravati; this undermined investor confidence. His ‘three capitals’ plan sparked protests among farmers.

The cessation of development work had significant economic and social consequences. Unfinished and damaged infrastructure increased completion costs and Amaravati’s credit ratings took a hit, as per a white paper recently released by Mr. Naidu. The economic fallout included job migration, decreased property values, and lost revenue opportunities.

With Mr. Naidu’s return, there is now optimism in Amaravati. His primary focus will be on mobilising resources, restoring investor confidence, and completing core infrastructure within five years.