Naidu may go for Lutyen's Delhi model for capital

HYDERABAD: After considering various planned cities across the globe such as Singapore City, Putrajaya (Malaysia) and Brasilia (Brazil), chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu seems to have decided to stick to a 'Swadeshi' model while constructing the core capital area of the truncated state. He is learnt to have zeroed in on 'Lutyen's Delhi' model in this regard.

Akin to Lutyen's Delhi area in New Delhi which houses the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament House, Union ministers' quarters and secretariat buildings, Naidu is learnt to have decided to construct the core capital of AP between Uddhandarayunipalem (in Thullur mandal) and Venkatapalem in the new capital region, which spans 11 km between Vijayawada and Guntur.

'Naidu wants to build all important administrative buildings such as the Assembly building, the Raj Bhavan, the Secretariat, ministers' quarters, officers' residences to be constructed in this core capital area. The seat of power is likely to come up at Borupalem (in Thullur mandal),'' said a source.

If there is a green stretch between Yamuna River and the National Capital Territory, Naidu too has reportedly made up his mind to set up a long garden along the Krishna River, which he wants to rival and excel the world-famous Brindavan Gardens of Mysore.

The seat of power will come up near this garden. 'This green stretch will begin at the Prakasam Barrage and spread along the banks of the River Krishna,' the source said.

In fact, Lutyens' Delhi is an area in Delhi, specifically New Delhi, named after the leading British architect Edwin Lutyens, who was responsible for much of the architectural design of the area.

The area houses all important administrative blocks, including the Prime Minister's Office, beside the Rashtrapati Bhawan with one-third of the area as green space.

The construction of the core capital will begin once the government procures about 25,000 acres of land from the local farmers in the region. Of the 30,000 acres of land, which the State government wants to procure in the first phase for the new capital, around 4,000 acres will be reserved for parks to make it compete with the Lutyens' Delhi area in terms of green cover.

The master plan for the remaining capital city is likely to be developed by Japan. According to the source, a Japanese delegation is expected to arrive in Hyderabad on Jan 23 to hold the final round of talks with CM Naidu over the issue.

Meanwhile, the AP government has decided to send a 15-member IAS officers' team to Singapore to attend an orientation training programme on Capital Area Development (CAD).

The team will be led by Giridhar, Principal Secretary to government (MAUD). Besides, N Srikanth, Commissioner of Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), AB Venkateswara Rao, Police Commissioner of Vijayawada, Ganeshan Veerapandian, Municipal Commissioner of Vijayawada, PHD Ramakrishna, SP of Guntur district, and Prabala Gopinath, Municipal Commissioner of Tenali, are the other members of the team. These team officers will be trained at the Centre for Livable Cities (CLC) in Singapore from Jan 19 to Jan 24.