Climate history of new capital under study

HYDERABAD: The team of Singapore experts, who are entrusted with the responsibility of drawing up blueprint for the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, have sought the data of weather patterns and climatic conditions such as occurrence of cyclones, earthquakes and other natural disasters in the proposed capital region of the state, recorded in the past 500 years, from the state government.

Based on the weather pattern and climatic conditions in the region, the Singapore planners and architects would prepare the master plan for the new capital city.

The Singapore team headed by Khoo Teng Chye, executive director of Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), which looks after urban development activities in the island nation, had a detailed meeting with the officials of municipal administration, revenue, home, power, transport, roads & buildings, tourism, endowments and planning departments at the Secretariat here.

At the same time, the experts' team also interacted with the collectors of Guntur and Krishna districts to know the topography, climatic conditions, demography and other issues relating to the proposed capital region.

Emerging from the meeting, municipal administration minister P Narayana said the state government had provided 95 per cent of the data, which the Singapore expert team had sought from it, to prepare the master plan of the new capital.

'The Singapore experts have expressed their satisfaction over the way the state government has provided information to them very quickly. They told us that if the state government provides the required information for them with the same speed, they would complete the blueprint for the new capital much before the the stipulated period of six months,' he said.

He further disclosed that the state government and the Singapore team would continue to be in touch with each other over the phone and Internet and exchange the required data for preparation of the master plan so as to complete the blueprint at the earliest.

35 IAS officers for Singapore

Recalling that the government had already decided to make those officers, who will look after the activities of construction of the new capital city, in Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), municipal administration minister P Narayana said the government has decided to send 35 IAS officers to the island nation for training.

'We will identify the first batch of 35 IAS officers to be sent to Singapore within a week. They will be trained in the CLC from Jan 19 to 23,' he disclosed. Officials belonging to home, municipal administration, power, public health and other key departments that relate to urban development are being selected for the Singapore tour.

In fact, the AP government is also planning to set up an 'Urban Management Centre' in Vijayawadda on the lines of CLC to guide the state government machinery in the urban development programmes, he summed up.