E-Paper
Amaravati to be case study for London School of Economics students
A team of students from LSE are expected to visit Amaravati in August to study the progress of works on the new capital right from acquisition of land to creation of world-class infrastructure.
The establishment of Amaravati, the green-field capital of Andhra Pradesh, is going to be a case study for the students of the prestigious London School of Economics.
A team of students from LSE are expected to visit Amaravati in August to study the progress of works on the new capital right from acquisition of land to creation of world-class infrastructure, an official in the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) said.
The students of LSE, who are presently involved in the preparation of World Happiness Index report, have evinced interest in Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s plan to develop Amaravati as one of the world’s happiest cities.
The proposed visit of LSE students came up for discussion during an official review meeting conducted by the chief minister in Amaravati on Friday.
APCRDA commissioner Cherukuri Sridhar told Naidu that the LSE students had chosen Amaravati to study the development of a capital and its economics.
“The LSE has invited us to give a lecture on Amaravati capital construction. Accordingly, a team of four officials from CRDA would visit London from June 4–8 to explain the entire master plan of the capital. After that, a group of students from LSE would come to Amaravati and spend two months to do a comprehensive study on the capital,” Sridhar said.
LSE is said to have particularly evinced interest in studying the concept of land pooling, through which the state government had acquired 34,000 acres of land worth ₹50,000 crore for the construction of the green field capital at Amaravati.
“The government has not spent a single rupee on land acquisition. In lieu of the land, the government has allotted residential and commercial plots to the farmers in prime areas of the capital,” Sridhar said.
LSE had also come forward to give its inputs in transforming Amaravati into a world-class happy city. “The students will make a study of different aspects of socio-economic development of the capital city,” he said.
Meanwhile, Naidu made a whirlwind tour of Amaravati capital region on Saturday to oversee the progress of the infrastructure works including roads, drainages, water and sewerage lines. He also inspected the works on construction of residential quarters for the government employees, legislators and all India service officials.
“Works worth ₹24,000 crore have been taken up and they are in brisk progress. The Centre has so far given just ₹1,500 crore. We are tapping various sources to mobilise funds for the capital,” Naidu said.
The APCRDA has initiated the process of issuing of bonds worth ₹2,000 crore by May end, after obtaining the credit ratings from various agencies and clearance from the Centre. “We are expecting the final rating by May 22 and clearance from the Centre by May 23,” Sridhar said.
Naidu also wanted the officials to float special bonds in the name of “Amaravati bonds” to mobilise funds from Telugu NRIs. The money raised through bonds, for which the state government would be the guarantor, would help in payment to contractors and other infrastructure development works, the commissioner said.
