Jagan Mohan Reddy tried to explain the situation to Amaravati farmers on Tuesday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy today cited monetary concerns as the reason for scrapping the previous Telugu Desam Party government's proposal to establish a futuristic capital in Amaravati, replacing it instead with a plan to establish a tri-capital mechanism in the state.
The new tri-capital plan, which the centre says it has no objection to, involves setting up executive, legislative and judicial capitals at Vishakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool respectively.
"We needed Rs 1.09 lakh crore, of which only Rs 6,000 crore had been spent, to proceed with the earlier plan. As much as Rs 1.03 lakh crore more would have been required just to lay basic infrastructure such as roads, drainage, water supply and power lines in Amaravati. However, I could only afford to spend a maximum of Rs 6,000 crore more, which would have been like a drop in the ocean. It wouldn't even have been visible," said Jagan Mohan Reddy.
According to the Chief Minister, establishing the executive capital at Vishakhapatnam makes more monetary sense because it already has most of the basic infrastructure in place. "If I invest even 10 per cent of that in Vizag, it can compete with Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai in 10 years, if not five," he said.
At an interaction with a farmer delegation from the region on Tuesday, Jagan Mohan Reddy had explained how Amaravati was located at a relatively long distance of around 30 km from both Vijayawada and Guntur. He also told them that as the region happens to be "virgin land" lacking in infrastructure or even a two-laned road, developing it would have been difficult under the circumstances.
Farmers in Amaravati region have been agitating ever since the Jagan Mohan Reddy government scrapped the previous proposal last month. "Amaravati is not being shifted, as is being propagated. It remains the legislative capital of the state, and the assembly will function from here. Legislators will come and stay here in the 60-odd days the house is in session," Jagan Mohan Reddy reassured them, adding that nobody would lose out under his watch.
The Chief Minister pointed out that even if one goes by the previous government's estimate, the cost of setting up basic infrastructure such as roads, drains and water connections would have cost over Rs 2 crore for each of the 52,000 acres acquired in Amaravati. "The amount spent by the previous government was just Rs 5,677 crore. That is the capacity of any government. The centre has given Rs 1,500 crore and we cannot expect more. At that rate, how many years would it have taken to collect the Rs 1.09 lakh crore required to establish basic infrastructure in the region?" he asked.
As the state's executive capital, Visakhapatnam will house the Secretariat and the Chief Minister's Office under the new proposal. Kurnool, which was the state capital from 1953 to 1956, will accommodate the higher judiciary.
Incidentally, the Union government had clarified in parliament on Tuesday that it is within the rights of a state to decide on its capital - even if it's three of them. This had come in response to a request for central intervention by Telugu Desam Party MP Jaydev Galla.