July 9, 2024

The other day one of my Investor friends called and asked me – “How about investing in Amaravati.”

I had heard about this beautiful city on the banks of the Krishna River. I was also aware of the fact that the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu had prepared a plan to convert it as the capital of the newly bifurcated state. Till then as we know Hyderabad was the joint capital shared by both the states, Telangana and Andra Pradesh. But as per the agreement, Hyderabad was to remain with Telangana state as its capital, as of June 2, 2024.

Nara Chandrababu Naidu was then in love with the city and he decided to develop it as a modern-day city for it had its historical and cultural values. The city was surrounded by the religious structures including both the temples and Masjids.

My investor friend further informed me that all investors have beeline towards the city, to bag their piece of pie and to invest in a very robust city under development. According to him the city of Ayodhya had lost its sheen as a city of gold after the parliamentary election results. My friends told me the city of Amaravati stands only next to Singapore for its financial and architectural gains.

When I visited google to check more about the city, its history, geological location, strategic placement, environmental position and financial proposition enthralled me. I was surprised that only a politician like Naidu could sense the importance of the city, hitherto ignored by the social and political system.

Nara Chandrababu Naidu who had been the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation, or perhaps even before had a plan for the city. Many of us may not remember that as a politician he was the first to call himself as the CEO of his state, for his corporate style governance. His leadership saw the transformation of Hyderabad into a modern cyber hub, exemplified by the establishment of HITEC City, attracting global attention. It may be right to mention here that Bill Gates of Microsoft was attracted and had established his company’s India Development Centre in Andra Pradesh. The ‘Time’ magazine even named Naidu as the ‘South Asian of the Year’ in 1999. Today, HITEC city stands as a premier IT hub that houses health, education and Real Estate.

Naidu had proposed the development of Amaravati as the new capital in his third term. However, his defeat in 2019 hampered the move, but his ‘Never Say Die’ attitude have brought him back to power. For those who are aware, his own bungalow in the area was brought down and he became a homeless politician once. Then he had vowed that he will bridge the rural-urban development gap, will continue his legacy of transformational leadership.

Government is committed to develop Amaravati

On June 20, the new designated Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu visited Amaravati to review the stalled projects in the greenfield capital city. This visit marks his first since taking office for the fourth term as the chief minister. During this visit, he inspected various construction sites, including residential quarters for officials, legislators and judges, as well as the halted high court, secretariat and other significant government buildings.

During the swearing in ceremony, June 20, 2024, CM Naidu said his government would soon publish a White Paper highlighting the status of the capital city Amaravati. He also informed that the under-construction buildings of the proposed capital have been damaged during the past five years and they need repairs.

It can be recalled that it was the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who laid the foundation stone for Amaravati during Dussehra celebrations in the year 2015. Nine years later, an emotional Naidu was on his knees in front of the foundation stone where soil from all over the state had been brought, in a gesture of Pranaam. He was determined to clear most of the area now covered in weeds and thorny bushes after five years of neglect.

What is special about Amaravati?

Amaravati means ‘the abode of God’, a village surrounded by Vijayawada in one side and Guntur on the other. On the banks of Krishna River, the city is famous for the Amareswara temple, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and dates back to the 2nd century BC. The city was once the capital of the Satavahanas and the Pallava Kings. The town was a seat of Buddhism prior to the rise of Satavahanas as the world-famous Stupa and a monastery nearby indicate the reign of Emperor Ashoka (269-232 BC) under Mauryan Empire.

The other ‘speciality’ of this city is that the land, over and above 30,000 acres, was donated by the adjoining 25,000 unique farmers/land owners through pooling system. In return, the government has promised to give them developed plots (residential and commercial) in a proportionate ratio of land as per the predefined guidelines. Thus, the people in the state will become partners in the development, instead of becoming the prey to coercive land acquisition. To make the process of distribution of developed plots completely transparent and unbiased, the allocation of plots was done through a lottery system.

All eyes are on ‘Amaravati’

After a lull of five years, real estate prices in Amaravati region are set to soar with several land dealings expected to close. The entire area has breathed new life into the hitherto abandoned city project. The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority has already notified eight tenders, calling for jungle clearance along several roads. While the Chief Secretary accompanied by the officials of CREDAI have already visited the region to take stock of the situation, it is suspected that the property rates are going to be double by 18 months. In fact, the property rates inflated on the eve of declaration of elections for legislative assembly and Lok Sabha as most of the people had expected that Chandrababu Naidu is going to make a comeback.

According to the CREDAI officials, up to 50,000 acres of land inventory is available in and around Amaravati, including government and private lands.

From trending around Rs 15,000 per sq yard, they are commanding a price of Rs 25,000 per sq yard now, pointing out that they have touched the prices last seen during the erstwhile TDP government between 2014 and 2019.

Observing that thicket clearance work, illumination and repair work have already begun in Amaravati, as in a year's time the area will become very beautiful provided the government ‘does what it promised the local peasants’ in the election manifesto.

While it’s the responsibility of the government to provide roads, drainage and power, other infrastructure will follow suit. No doubt, good times have arrived for farmers in the capital area, farm labourers as the new CM N Chandrababu Naidu has promised to attract handsome investments.