The Andhra Pradesh government has filed an affidavit-cum-petition in the High Court, seeking an extension of five years on the deadline set for completion of the infrastructure development in Amaravati and handing over the developed reconstituted plots to those who gave their lands under the pooling scheme.
The High Court, in its order dated March 3, 2022, asked the government to complete the infrastructure development in Amaravati within a month and hand over the developed reconstituted plots within three months.
Special Chief Secretary (Municipal Administration) Y. Srilakshmi, in the petition, said that the development of the capital city was an ‘enormously time-consuming’ process and it needed 40 years to 50 years to ensure complete development of a capital city.
The court should, therefore, permit the State and the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) to develop the trunk infrastructure (limited to the capital city) and hand over the reconstituted plots by removing the timelines or extending the time granted by five years, without prejudice to their right to legal rights and remedies.
Reconstituted plots
Ms. Srilakshmi mentioned that the total number of reconstituted plots to be given possession to the LPS beneficiaries was 63,452, of which 21,567 were awaiting registration.
The number of plots registered is 41,885. A total of 3,289 plots are neither allotted nor registered due to litigation over the process of land acquisition, and 1,598 plots which were delivered and a part of which were registered are under investigation. As on April 1, 2022, 17,357 plots were eligible for registration, of which 709 were registered.
Funding issues
It was further stated that the CRDA held a meeting with the bankers for mobilising the required funds and the bankers preferred to have a consortium as a single bank would not and cannot lend such large sums.
The bankers also highlighted that as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, the revenue stream of the borrower should reflect in the financial model whereas budgetary support for servicing repayment obligations will not be considered. They called for a revised model for raising ₹3,500 crore.
The CRDA is exploring the option of auctioning land / plots for generating resources for the development of infrastructure in Amaravati and is in the process of auctioning 331 vacant plots in Amaravati Township to raise ₹330 crore.
The NCC Limited resumed the construction of four-lane seed access road at Dondapadu (western boundary) by attending to the gaps at three junctions. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022. The Krishna right flood bank road (Karakatta road) is being widened and strengthened.
The time for construction of 432 apartment units in 18 towers for MLAs, MLCs and All India Services Officers has been extended till November 30, 2022 and the works are in progress. Various other infrastructure project works are in different stages of execution but the government needs sufficient time to complete them while efforts are made to raise funds for the same.
