The city has been designed in such a way that it touches three national highways and will be fed by seven growth corridors, including those from Hyderabad to Machlipatnam Port and from Chennai to Visakhapatnam.
Meanwhile, the state government has been mired in controversy for pooling about 33,000 acres of land spread over 29 villages from farmers for the new capital city. The Vijayawada-Guntur region was selected due to its geographical location, which is accessible from all parts of the state.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has also issued stay orders against carrying out any construction activity for the city based on a public interest litigation filed by social activist Pandalaneni Srimannarayana.
Srimannarayana has claimed that any major construction would adversely impact the environment as Amaravathi was a flood-prone area. He has also alleged that officials of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) were trying to bulldoze crops spread over thousands of acres. He also argued that Amaravathi had fertile soil and the land was suitable for agriculture and not for constructing high-rise buildings.
Naidu after addressing a cabinet meeting earlier said, “the tribunal has issued notice to us seeking our reply. We will respond appropriately. We will get all environmental clearances for the new capital.”
“As a government, we will not violate any rule…capital construction will commence only after obtaining due environmental clearances. We are confident that the clearances will come soon, even before October 22,” he added.