Amaravathi development beyond boundaries

Located very close to Vijayawada, capital city Amaravathi is in the south west of Krishna River. The spatial linkage of the capital city with Gundur is about 45 to 50km. On a whole, the capital city- Amaravathi, Vijayawada and Guntur (AVG), excluding Amaravathi Town, form a triangle with closer angle with Vijayawada than Guntur. This proves to be instrumental in the growth and development of Andhra Pradesh.

In today’s age of globalisation, information and communication technology development, increasing level of literacy, stable population, improvement in education, health, transportation sector, foreign investments and emerging knowledge, e-governance and participatory planning are crucial factors not only in developed countries but also in developing countries like India. There has been a significant change in almost all sectors of the economy including agriculture, business and community living.

The surrounding settlements around the capital city including villages, towns and cities will need special care. The settlements such as Todikonda Mandal on the south, Ibrahampatnam Mandal on the north, Tadepalli Mandal on the east and Amaravathi Mandal on the west will be under pressure in terms of urban development. Tadepalli Mandal might take a stand towards grow as a sub-city to Vijayawada.

Along the National Highway 5 the major city Guntur and other urban areas such as Pedakakani and Mangalpuri could attract high density trade, commerce and industrial development.The highway between Guntur and Vijayawada has the first urban corridor with high scope for development on either sides.

The second urban corridor will be between Tadepalli and Amaravathi. The river front here needs special care since the existing road and rail network is not suitable for a dense administrative functional development. More importantly the corridor can as well act as the main gateway to the capital city.

The third corridor is between Guntur and Amaravathi where the existing secondary roads will attract development and turn the place into a residential reservoir for the workers of the capital city. Though the third corridor accommodates development it requires a rail linkage between Guntur and Amaravathi.

The settlements along these three corridors abutting Guntur-Tadepalli-Amaravathi will become the vicinity settlements to the capital city. The first corridor will interlink and facilitate building more corridors near Tadepalli and Tenali. Corridor coming up near Tenali will benefit Duggirala Mandal by developing the existing roads and rail connectivity.

The fifth corridor near Guntur and Tenali would act as an avenue for development. The capital city with five urban-rural corridors in its region possesses different characters in terms of people and environment. The capital city might develop a formal and primary link with Vijayawada and Guntur and turn into dependent settlements.

The shadow settlements are the villages and towns located in the fourth and fifth corridors, which include those between Tadepalli-Tenali-Guntur. The shadow settlements across Krishna River such as the villages between the river and National Highway 9 and Ibrahampatnam Mandal hold advantages of forming the micro regions of the capital city.

It is essential to understand the backward and forward linkages not only in terms of the connectivity and transportation but also the flow of people, goods and communication. The boundaries of settlements are administrative and are not to be considered as development boundaries.

The administrative boundaries are of national, state and local importance. The boundaries are not the end for development so the development should be viewed across boundaries such as administrative lines, roads, hills and rivers.

The capital city Amaravathi holds a unique identity in terms of place, history and culture. This forms a major lesson for urban and regional planners to seek further insight into the capital city. Dr. Abdul Razak Mohamed, DEAN of Studies & HOD Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada