AP government employees to move to Velagapudi

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to set up a temporary capital in Velagapudi of Guntur district. It had earlier issued orders regarding the relocation of all government employees to Amaravati by June; but with the employees complaining that they will not be able to move there without the availability of proper infrastructure, the government has hurriedly taken a decision to construct a temporary capital in Velagapudi .

The government had earlier contemplated on setting up a temporary capital but facing criticism on lack of funds they had to give up the plan. However due to factors such as changes in the master plan by the Singapore consortium and the standoff in the selection of the master developer, the government has decided to go in for the temporary capital once again.

On Thursday the government had called for tenders with directions to complete the construction in the next six months. They are to undertake construction on 26 acres of land in Velagapudi by allocating 180 crores towards it. About 6 lakh square feet of space on ground and first floor will be done using either pre-fab or RCC construction.
Three villages to be vacated
Meanwhile the government has gone back on its word on the issue of not evicting villages for the construction of the proposed capital. The government is to vacate Tallayapalem, Uddandarayanipalem and Lingayapalem completely. The farmers who lost their land up until now have lost their houses too. They are being allocated housing plots at a distance, far away from the village.
It is a known fact that apart from the 20 thousand acres already in their position, the government has confiscated another 33,400 acres of land from farmers in the name of construction of capital. The government has not as yet notified farmers about the re-allocation of their land.

This issue has been causing concern to the farmers. Keeping his in view the government has decided to issue a notification in this regard on February 1, 2016.