Chandrababu Naidu seeks realtors help to build capital

Amaravati: Aiming to develop Amaravati capital city into a world-class city, the State government decided to allow private mega realtors to develop the lands allocated to farmers in 29 villages.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu organised a review meeting with the CRDA officials and big realtors in the country at the Secretariat on Wednesday. The State government decided to develop the capital city with the support of private realtors.

The Chief Minister informed the participants that within a month, the government will discuss and introduce the policies. Within the next two months, tender process and project finalisation would be completed. Government will share policies with the realtors and take their suggestions and ideas for the betterment of Amaravati.

Chandrababu Naidu discussed plans on developing infrastructural facilities in Amaravati and also showcased his vision for the capital city to the real estate developers at the CRDA meeting.

CRDA Commissioner Sreedhar Cherukuri explained the progress of works in Amaravati and the unique opportunities that are available for them to start their projects in the capital.

Inviting ideas and suggestions from the real estate developers, Chandrababu Naidu said there was a unique opportunity for all of them as Amaravati is offering a Greenfield region unlike the other cities where their works were done around Brownfield regions.

Well planned cities like Chandigarh serve only as an administrative capital and doesn’t have as many economic opportunities as in Amaravati, he pointed out.

Cities like Naya Raipur, Navi Mumbai, Gandhinagar, all have some challenges or other in form of connectivity, lack of foreign investment and so on. Singapore also faced challenges initially in the form of water scarcity where it had to get water from Malaysia and shortage of land where they had to do land reclamation.

Similarly, Dubai also had issues like harsh weather and water scarcity. Unlike all these cities, Amaravati will not pose any challenges to the developers as it has a great riverfront with abundant fresh water resources along with 5 reservoirs, Chandrababu Naidu explained.

Land is also not an issue and the available soil is fertile in nature, Naidu said while explaining on the unique opportunities the State was offering.
“We have an aim to make Amaravati an iconic city and for that we have made sure that all registrations of land are done entirely online and are using block chain technology for the same,” the Chief Minister said. He said the government was keen on bringing the best schools, universities, hotels, hospitals and economic centres to Amaravati.

“We will together develop Amaravati with the help of best consultants and technology and your cooperation is of utmost importance,” Naidu stated. Seeking their support in building the city, he said that he was ready to take their suggestions as the real estate developers had good track record in infrastructure development.

Responding to the Chief Minister’s appeal for collaborative development, a top official from Raheja Group said, “To bring in IT jobs we need to develop a social infrastructure. We need help from the government on that front and creating easy accessibility to resources will help us immensely in operations and movement.”

Naidu responded to the real estate developers’ queries on connectivity and accessibility. He said that the government will provide all necessary support and simplify policies within regulations.

A senior official from Mahindra Lifespaces told the Chief Minister that Amaravati could also be developed as a manufacturing hub. If livelihood opportunities are developed, it will automatically bring life to the area and developers must be prepared to provide housing to any number of people, he pointed out.

Minister for Urban Development P Narayana, Special Chief Secretary Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary Ajay Jain, Chairperson and MD, ADC, Lakshmi Parthasarathy, senior management officials from real estate developers like L&T, GVK, Raheja Group, Shapoorji Pallonji and Mahindra Lifespaces attended the meeting.