Amaravati works: Fire on all cylinders, officials told

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked officials to formulate a comprehensive time-bound monthly action plan to speed up the pace of capital city construction works so that the projects are completed on time.

In the wake of slow progress in capital city construction works, the Chief Minister expressed displeasure during the CRDA meeting on May 31. During a teleconference with CRDA officials and other senior officers on Sunday, the Chief Minister also made it clear that the works must be taken up 24x7 and the major progress must be visible within six months.

He said that though the pace of development in Amaravati is better compared to the construction of any other city in India, it is not enough as the CRDA has to reach a gigantic milestone within six months.

APCRDA commissioner Ch Sreedhar briefed the progress of various construction projects to the Chief Minister. He said the CRDA formulated various development projects, including Amaravati Government Complex, tier-1&2 trunk infrastructure projects and LPS infrastructure etc at a cost of Rs 48,116 crore.

He said around 51 per cent of total construction works are under progress. “We have targeted to complete 3,840 flats for government employees and build 186 bungalows for Ministers and other senior officers by October 2018. Similarly, 80 km of total 240-km-long arterial and sub-arterial roads are under construction and the Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC) is making efforts to complete the road works by end of July 2018.

The seed access road has already been completed above 60 per cent. Infrastructure development works such as underground drains and drinking water supply etc in LPS zones in 21,650 acres are also under progress,” the CRDA Commissioner said.

Sreedhar also said designs were completed for five iconic towers for Secretariat and HoDs offices and the CRDA had already invited tenders for some iconic towers.

“It is planned to create 680 lakh sq ft of office space in five iconic towers. The High Court building will be built in an area of 20.35 lakh sq ft and the area of Assembly building will be 10.63 lakh sq ft.

The Norman Fosters have completed designs for both the High Court and Assembly buildings and the construction works will start soon,” he said. He also pointed out that the VIT and SRM University started classes in the academic year 2017-18.

The Chief Minister said that he would not tolerate any delay in construction works and not consider any explanations. “You must prepare a comprehensive time-bound monthly action plan and subsequently monitor the progress up to date,” he said. He suggested to the CRDA officials that alternative plans must be formulated to continue working during rainy season also.

He further said the CRDA should create an effective performance management system to improve performance and help meet the goals of capital construction. The special mechanism should assess the quantity of work to be done, he said. He also said, “We can increase the credibility of Amaravati among the public by only by taking up the works at a greater speed.”

Special Chief Secretary Satish Chandra, principal secretaries G Sai Prasad, Ajay Jain and ADC chairperson Lakshmi Parthasaradhi participated in the meeting.