HYDERABAD: “Special offer for officers and employees of Hyderabad secretariat who opted for Amaravati new capital. We are providing decent accommodation with free air and also delicious and homely food.. (sic)” – read a pamphlet of a private hostel in circulation among employees of Andhra Pradesh secretariat a couple of days ago.
Several such hostels and private residential apartments in Guntur district, where the new secretariat complex of the Andhra Pradesh government is coming up, are offering to provide accommodation to employees coming from Hyderabad.
With the Chandrababu Naidu government deciding to shift the state secretariat from Hyderabad to the new capital city of Amaravati by June 27, employees staying comfortably in Hyderabad are struggling to shift their families.
Amaravati was envisioned after Telangana was created out of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh two years ago. The two states are supposed to share Hyderabad as a capital for 10 years, after which the IT-hub goes to Telangana. But ties between the two states have been less than cordial and Naidu has now chosen to fast-forward the move out of Hyderabad by ordering 2,500 secretariat employees to relocate by the month-end. Another 17,000 will have to relocate to Amaravati over the next few months.
Officially though, the reason cited for the hurried shifting is to generate economic activity in Andhra Pradesh. The longer the Andhra employees stay in Hyderabad, Telangana earns more in the form of commercial taxes and excise. Naidu wants all the income to accrue to Andhra instead.
{{/usCountry}}Officially though, the reason cited for the hurried shifting is to generate economic activity in Andhra Pradesh. The longer the Andhra employees stay in Hyderabad, Telangana earns more in the form of commercial taxes and excise. Naidu wants all the income to accrue to Andhra instead.
{{/usCountry}}To fulfil his wish, those ordered to shift immediately are scrambling to find homes in the new capital. Athidhi Home, a new residential apartment in Tullur block, offers separate accommodation for women and men with security and 24-hours water facility.
It provides shared accommodation for two to six people at a price ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 for non-airconditioned and air-conditioned rooms respectively.
It also gives non-AC and AC dormitories for bachelors charging Rs 150 to Rs 250 per bed daily.
Many such hostels and residential apartments are ready for occupation for the employees coming from Hyderabad, D Gopi, a local resident, told HT. Private buildings are offering to house even government offices.
The chief minister has asked the officials to identify buildings in and around the new capital region to house government offices, as it would take at least a couple of months more to complete the construction of the transitional secretariat complex at Velagapudi village – a part of Amaravati.
According to municipal administration minister P Narayana who is overseeing the construction of the new capital, the secretariat complex will house all departments of the main administration, including the CM’s office, and some of offices of other heads of departments.
“The remaining government offices would be accommodated in rented buildings in Vijayawada and Guntur,” he said.
The biggest problem, however, is the shifting of employees to Amaravati, as majority of them have made Hyderabad as their hometown.
According to U Murali Krishna, president of AP Secretariat Employees’ Association, most employees cannot shift their families permanently to Amaravati, till all infrastructure is created. “Till such time, most of us will have to stay in hostels and shared accommodations, while returning to Hyderabad during weekends,” Murali Krishna told HT.
In a bid to pacify the employees, the Naidu government has agreed to some of their major demands including enhancing their house rent allowance from 13 to 30%. Yet, transferring the capital remains a daunting task.