No proposal to shift state capital: Andhra minister

Amaravati, Dec 13 (IANS) Clearing the air over the future of Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress Party government said on Friday that there is no proposal to shift the capital.

Minister for Municipal Administration Botsa Satyanarayana submitted a written reply to this effect in the state legislative council.

Satyanarayana, who himself made certain statements in the past raising a question mark on the future of Amaravati as the state capital, told a member of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that the government has no proposal to shift the capital.

Ever since the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) came to power in May, there have been indications that the government may shift the capital out of Amaravati.

After Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took over as the Chief Minister, all works in Amaravati were kept on hold, pending probe into alleged irregularities by the previous government in awarding contracts and in allotting prime lands to those close to then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The government is also cancelling the contracts awarded by the previous government to go for reverse tendering, saying the exercise would save public money.

Amid uncertainty over the future of Amaravati, the government last month formed an experts' panel and also sought suggestions from the people.

Satyanarayana had earlier said that after the receipt of the panel's report, the government would decide whether to go ahead with Amaravati as the state capital or look for another location.

Last month a consortium of Singapore companies had closed the Amaravati Capital City Startup Project, the agreement for which was signed during the TDP rule.

The state government said they mutually decided to cancel the project as the consortium had failed to respond to the concerns raised.

In July, the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) pulled out of a project to fund Amaravati's development.

Amaravati was the brainchild of Naidu, whose TDP lost power in the elections held in April this year.