Panel on Capital to visit various cities

Hyderabad: The Advisory Committee constituted by the Andhra Pradesh government on development of a capital city would soon visit different state capitals in the country and also foreign cities like Singapore, Putrajaya and Dubai to study the models.

The committee, which had a meeting with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here yesterday, has decided to visit cities like Navi Mumbai, Chandigarh, Naya Raipur and Gandhinagar by the end of this month to study different aspects like planning and design, according to state Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana, who heads the panel.

The committee also plans to visit international cities like Singapore, Brasilia, Putrajaya, Islamabad and Dubai next month for further study, he said.

The panel, headed by Narayana, comprises TDP Rajya Sabha member Y S Chowdary, TDP Lok Sabha MP Galla Jayadev, whose family owns the Amara Raja Group, ex-MLA Beeda Masthan Rao, G V Sanjay Reddy of GVK Group, Bommidala Srinivas of GMR Group, Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd chairman M Prabhakara Rao and Peepul Capital chairman Chintalapati Srinivasa Raju.

The Chief Minister has been keen on developing a robust capital for the residuary state following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

A proposal to shift some of the government offices to somewhere in AP from the common capital of Hyderabad was discussed, but no decision was taken on the matter, an official release said.

The committee has decided to have a meeting with the Chief Minister once in a month to brief the progress regarding development of the capital city, it said.

The state government has also let the Advisory Committee to co-opt three prominent persons of national and international repute as special invitees.

Meanwhile, a Centre-appointed committee of experts is already looking into the issue of finding a new capital for Andhra Pradesh, post the formation of separate Telangana.

The committee, headed by retired top government official K C Sivaramakrishnan, has toured different cities of the state like Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Kadapa, Tirupati, Anantapur and Kurnool as part of its mission.

The Sivaramakrishnan committee is expected to submit itsreport this month, which would play a crucial role in deciding the capital city.

The expert panel has indicated that it favoured decentralisation rather than developing one "super capital". There have been vociferous demands from different groups on making the city of their region as the capital city.

Hyderabad presently serves as the common capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.