Amaravati | |
---|---|
Nickname: Place for immortals | |
Coordinates: 16°30′47″N 80°30′59″E / 16.513100°N 80.516500°E | |
Country | India |
State | Andhra Pradesh |
District | Guntur district |
Established | 30 December 2014 |
Founded by | Government of Andhra Pradesh |
Government | |
• Type | Planning agencies |
• Body | Amaravati Development Corporation Limited, APCRDA |
Area | |
• Capital city | 217.23 km2 (83.87 sq mi) |
• Metro | 8,352.69 km2 (3,224.99 sq mi) |
Elevation | 49 m (161 ft) |
Population (2011)
[3] | |
• Capital city | 103,000 |
• Metro | 5,873,588 |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 ( IST) |
Pincode(s) | 520 XXX, 521 XXX, 522 XXX |
Vehicle registration | AP-7, AP-8, AP-39 [6] |
Official languages | Telugu |
Website | Amaravati official website |
|
Amaravati (English: /əməˈrɑːvəti/) is the greenfield capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. [a] It is situated at the heart of the state, on the right bank of the river Krishna in Guntur district. It is near to Dharanikota, the ancient city site nearby, that served as the capital of Satavahana dynasty more than 2,200 years ago. [7]
The bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 resulted in the residual state having no capital city. NDA under the leadership of N. Chandrababu Naidu won the elections and formed the government. Both the government and the opposition agreed on the need for a large capital city. The opposition party led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed the location of capital city near Vijayawada. [8] The farmers of Guntur district gave 33,000 acres of land, to the Government of Andhra Pradesh through an innovative land pooling scheme in return for developed plots and lease payments for 10 year period. [9] [10] After fast track completion of interim buildings, government legislature started operating from the new facilities at Velagapudi from March 2017. [11] [12]
The construction slowed down after the change in government in 2019. The new government led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy changed its stance on single capital city. It proposed utilising Amaravati as legislative capital, with Visakhapatnam as executive capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital. The legislation for this change was challenged in the High Court. When High Court was close to completing the hearings, the government withdrew the act while clarifying its intent to come up with a better legislation. [13] [14] On 5 March 2022, High Court ruled against the three capitals policy and said that the government can not abandon development of Amaravati as the capital city. [15] Appeal against the High Court judgement is pending before the Supreme Court. [16]
Amaravati literally translates to 'the place for immortals'. The name has significance from historical, spiritual and mythological points of view. This name was also used in 18th century for a village near Dharanikota, the ancient capital of the Satavahana dynasty. [17]
Date | Event |
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2014-06-02 | AP Reorganization Act comes into force |
2014-09-01 | Location of new Capital City finalized |
2014-12-30 | APCRDA Act comes into effect |
2015-01-XX | Voluntary Land Pooling Scheme announced |
2015-03-XX | Consent for 33,000 acres obtained from farmers |
2015-06-06 | Amaravati City Bhoomi Puja (ground-breaking ceremony) by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu [18] |
2015-10-22 | Foundation stone set by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi [19] |
2017-03-XX | Government Legislature and secretariat start functioning from the city |
2018-12-27 | Naidu lays foundation stone for Andhra Pradesh Permanent secretariat towers [20] [21] |
2019-02-03 | CJI lays foundation stone for Andhra High Court in Amaravati [22] |
2020-07-31 | Governor's assent to legislation for three capitals |
2021-11-22 | Three capitals legislation withdrawn |
2022-03-05 | High court gives verdict in favour of single capital city |
2023-05-17 | GO by AP government to form Zone 5 and distributed housing plots for 53,000 poor people. |
Dharanikota (Dhānyakatakam) nearby was the capital city of the Satavahana Dynasty of the ( Andhras. It's history dates back to 2nd Century BCE. [23] The Satavahanas are prominent in the history of Andhra Pradesh. Their main language was Prakrit written using Brahmi Script, which served as the base for the script of Telugu Language. The practice of Buddhism was predominant at that time and the dynasty was partly responsible for the prevalence of Buddhism in the region. [23] The city was also once a holy site of Mahayana Buddhism. The city used to have a large Buddhist Stupa now known as Amaravati Stupa. It was also the centre of Buddhist learning and art with several Buddhist followers from many South East Asian countries visiting. [23]
After Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Vishnukundina, Pallavas, Cholas, Kakatiyas, Delhi Sultanate, Musunuri Nayaks, Bahmani Sultanate, Vijayanagara Empire, Sultanate of Golconda and Mughal Empire successively ruled this area before the founding of the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1724. It was ceded to France in 1750 but was captured by the East India Company in 1759. It was returned to the Nizam in 1768 but was ceded to Britain again in 1788. [24] [25] [5] As part of the Madras Presidency, it was ruled by Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, hereditary zamindar of Chintapalli who founded the modern Amaravati village, near the ruins of the ancient stupa. [26]
As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad became the capital of the newly formed state of Telangana, post bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. [27]
K C Sivaramakrishnan committee recommended one major administrative city and several other cities focused on investment, technology and industry. The committee did not favour the development of a mega capital in fertile, agricultural lands. [28] However, Telugu Desam Party which came to power as part of the NDA and YSRCP, the main opposition party agreed on forming new capital with large area. The region near Guntur and Vijayawada was identified as the capital, which was supported by the opposition party led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. [8] The new capital is named Amaravati in view of historical, spiritual and mythological significance by N. Chandrababu Naidu. In an innovative way, farmers of the region parted with their lands for the capital, in lieu of payment of lease for a period of 10 years and allotment of developed plots. [9]
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at Uddandarayunipalem village on 22 October 2015. [29] [30] After fast track completion of interim buildings, government legislature and secretariat started operating from the new facilities at Velagapudi from March 2017. [11] [31]
After winning 2019 elections, the new state government led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had changed its stance toward the capital. It allocated a budget of only ₹500 crore and immediately stopped all running projects. [32] The World Bank withdrew from funding Amaravati in July 2019. [33] The Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development consortium have also withdrawn from the project in Septemeber 2019. [34] With only state government allocated budget of ₹500 crore in 2019, the Amaravati project has substantially slowed, with no deadline in sight. [35] [28]
The government passed Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020. According to its provisions, Amaravati will be limited to functioning as legislative capital, while Visakhapatnam will become the executive capital and Kurnool the judicial capital. [36] The intention of change in the stance towards the capital though discussions in the assembly resulted in protests by the farmers of Amaravati, which were intensified following the legislation. [37] The act was challenged in High Court, which ordered to maintain status quo. On 22 November 2021, when High Court was close to completing the hearings, the government, withdrew the act with the intention of coming up with a better act. [13] [38] On 5 March 2022, High Court ruled against the three capitals policy. It said that the government can not abandon development of Amaravati as capital city after farmers parted with 33,000 acres of land against the agreement with APCRDA to develop it as the capital city and ₹15,000 crore was sunk in it over development expenditure. [15] Appeal against the High Court judgement is pending before the Supreme Court. [16]
Meanwhile, government decided to modify the plans and issue plots and start construction of houses for the poor. This too was stayed by the High Court. [39] In related developments, Government issued the land acquisition notification for more than 1317 acres in at least 21 villages in Amaravati to deliver the plots allotted in this area to some of the farmers who gave their land for capital city, but has withdrawn the notification for about 625 acres after 2024 poll schedule was announced. [40]
The city is in Guntur district at the heart of the state, on the banks of the Krishna River located at 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of Vijayawada, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of Guntur, 45 kilometres (28 mi) south-east of Tenali. [41] [42] The City has an area of 217.23 km2 and is spread across 25 villages in 3 mandals (Thullur, Mangalagiri and Tadepalli) of Guntur district. The 25 villages in the Capital City area have about 1 lakh population in about 27,000 households. The AP capital region is spread over Guntur, Palnadu, NTR, and Krishna districts and includes Guntur, Vijayawada and Tenali cities several towns and villages. During winter months, the temperature is between 12 °C and 30 °C. During summer, the temperature is between 17 °C to 45 °C. Climate is very humid in summer with humidity rising up to 68%. [5]
Amaravati is planned to be the people-centric pioneer Smart City of India, built around sustainability and livability principles, and to be the happiest city in the world. [43] Among the innovative features on the drawing board are navigation canals [44] around the city, connecting to an island in the Krishna river. The Government envisaged an investment need of US$2–4 billion for the development of the city. [45]
Criticism that the city would require enormous amounts of energy and resources and would destroy precious natural environments and local livelihoods were raised and alternate plans were proposed. [46]
The city is planned to have 51% green space and 10% of water bodies. It is being modeled on Singapore, with the master plan being prepared by two Singapore government-appointed consultants. [47]
The city construction had a budget of ₹ 553.43 billions out of which state government contribution is only ₹ 126 billion. [48] Government raised money through bonds. [49] The contribution from the government is to be repaid by the CRDA after 2037. Ultimately state or union governments are not incurring any expenditure to construct the city but wholly financed by the income accrued from the sale of land for various development schemes (₹ 171.51 billion), loans and the local taxes (₹ 146.41 billion by 2037) to the CRDA. The state and union governments are expected to earn ₹ 120 billion per annum out of which state goods and services tax (State GST) alone is ₹ 60 billion per annum. [48] The entire city construction is planned by self-financing from loans and land selling with the state government's moral support. CRDA is expecting a net surplus income of ₹ 333 billion by 2037 after meeting the total expenditure on the city. Amaravati government complex which is intended to provide world-class facilities needed for the state government. [50] The bus rapid transit system (BRTS) in Amaravati to connect with the adjacent Vijayawada and Guntur cities by world-class road network is also part of the CRDA project. [51] Both Amaravati government complex and BRTS are planned with an expenditure of ₹ 140 billion. [48]
Nine themed cities consisting of finance, justice, health, sports, media, and Electronics were planned. Several business groups and institutions like Reliance Group, NRDC-India. [52] [53] [54] Pi Data Centre, [55] HCL Technologies, [56] [57] and BRS Medicity proposed to invest in the city. [58] [59]
The government explored other means of mass transport like ‘ monorail’, Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and tramways. [60] Two new depots, North and South depots of the APSRTC are proposed to be constructed. [61] A proposed Amaravati high-speed circular railway line would connect the city with the nearby cities of Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali, [62] extending up to a length of 105 km (65 mi) with an estimated cost of ₹10,000 crore (US$1.3 billion). A metro rail project is proposed between the cities of Tenali, Guntur, and Vijayawada with 100 km circular corridor. [63]
The state government originally engaged the Singapore-based Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development consortium for the city's construction. The city's infrastructure was to be developed in 7–8 years in phases, at an estimated cost of ₹33,000 crore. ₹7,500 crore from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), $500 million from the World Bank and ₹2,500 crore from the Indian Government, of which ₹1,500 crore has been granted. [64] With the change of priorities for the government that came into power in 2019, the Amaravati project has substantially slowed, with no completion deadline in sight. [35]
Amaravati is an urban notified area. Urban development and planning activities are undertaken by the Amaravati Development Corporation Limited [65] and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA). [66]
The APCRDA has its jurisdiction over the city and the conurbation covering Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. [67] The capital city is spread over an area of 217.23 km2 (83.87 sq mi), [68] and will comprise villages (including some hamlets) from three mandals viz., Mangalagiri, Thullur and Tadepalle. [69] The seed capital is spread over an area of 16.94 km2 (6.54 sq mi). [70]
The table below lists the identified villages and hamlets under their respective mandals, which became a part of the capital city. [69]
Mandal | Settlements |
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Thullur mandal | Abbarajupalem, Ainavolu, Ananthavaram, Borupalem, Dondapadu, Kondarajupalem (de-populated), Lingayapalem (including Modugulankapalem hamlets), Malkapuram, Mandadam (Tallayapalem hamlets), Nekkallu, Nelapadu, Pitchikalapalem, Rayapudi, Sakhamuru, Thulluru, Uddandarayunipalem, Velagapudi, Venkatapalem |
Mangalagiri mandal | Krishnayapalem, Nidamarru, Kuragallu (including Nerukonda hamlets), Nowlur (including Yerrabalem & Bethapudi hamlets) |
Tadepalle mandal | Penumaka, Tadepalle (M) (part) (Nulakapet, Dolas Nagar etc.), Undavalli |
Notes:
The administration successfully hosted the inaugural Happy Cities Summit in Amaravati in April 2018. The summit saw the participation of 1,500+ delegates from 15+ countries, including eminent city leaders and urban experts. [71]
Telugu is spoken by the majority of the population. It is followed by Urdu. Hinduism is the major religion.There are significant Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist communities as well.
The agrarian economy is transformed into an urban economy with the formation of capital city. [28]
National Institute of Design, SRM University, Andhra Pradesh, Vellore Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh, Amrita University, Amity University and the Indo-UK Institute of Health (IUIH) in collaboration with the King's College London, are among others to set up campus in Amaravati. [50] In 2018, the city's first management institute, Xavier School of Management, was under construction near Ainavolu. [72]
Nearby religious sites include the Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, and the Amaravati stupa in the Amaravati heritage complex, Dhyana Buddha statue and Undavalli Caves [73] [74] [75]
The Amaravati seed capital road is an arterial road under construction to access the core capital area from NH16. [76] The Vijayawada-Amaravati road connects the city with Vijayawada. [77] NH544D connects Anantapur-Guntur instead of the earlier proposed The Amaravati–Anantapur Expressway. [78] Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) operates buses connecting the city with Vijayawada, Guntur, and Tenali. [79] Auto rickshaws also operate for shorter distances in the capital city area.
The nearest railway station is KC Canal railway station near Tadepalli, though the major rail head is Vijayawada.
Vijayawada International Airport serves the whole Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. [80]
From 16 to 18 November in 2018, Amaravati hosted the second F1H2O World championship Grand Prix ever held in India. The event brought wide media attention especially after one of the teams took the color and the name of the state, making it the first Indian branded team in the history of F1H2O. [81]
Rajadhani Files, Telugu movie was inspired by the events around Amaravati. [82]