With the State government announcing that Capital would come up in Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali and Mangalagiri (VGTM) region, speculation is rife over the government offices that are likely to come up in the city neighbourhood.
Secretariat, Assembly, High Court, and Raj Bhavan are some of the important institutions that require floor and roof to function. The realtors and public are coming up with their analysis on government offices that are likely to come up in the areas of their choice. However, there is no clarity. The government will take the suggestions of the committee constituted by it to search the suitable place for capital. The government in all probabilities will zero-in on international consultants to design the capital, sources say.
As per industry sources, close to 25,000 acres are available in the district. The land is, however, not at a single chunk. While there are 194 acres at Agiripalli, another 2,200 acres are available in Kanchikacharla. In G. Kondur mandal, more than 5,300 acres of land is there. At Mylavaram mandal, 2,001 acres, and 4,251 acres at Nuzvid are available. In Reddigudem 490 acres and and 362 acres in Tiruvur will be available.
Under Vijayawada Rural mandal (close to city) 2,970 acres is there. In Bapulapadu and Musunur mandals 1800 acres and 2,930 acres are available. All these areas are within 10 km radius of the city, sources say.
The elected representatives calculate that about 500 acres of land is available in the city itself if the premises of Museum, Collector’s office, Police Commissioner’s office, irrigation department complex, guest houses of irrigation, roads and buildings, panchayat raj etc were taken into consideration.
The existing buildings could be used to shift the respective departments, and the government could go for vertical development in the city. When contacted, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) said nearly 5 lakh sq. feet of built-up area is available at Medha Park, an information technology (IT) tower located near Gannavaram. Close to it, the Government Veterinary College has about 50,000 sq. feet built-up area. These buildings could be used to house the government offices, he felt.
