Need 60 months for developing capital infra: AP to HC

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government informed the High Court that it required 60 months to develop infrastructure and complete construction of buildings for the capital city Amaravati.

Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma filed a 190-page affidavit in the High Court on Saturday stating that as the workers from the Amaravati region left the place, it would take two months to bring them back and deploy machinery and nearly eight months to resume the works to build the capital city. The government also informed the court that it would require 16 months to take up road works and 36 months to take up works related to developing drainage networks, water supply and other works.

The government submitted to the court that the previous government had started works at a cost of Rs 42,231 crore and said that it was making all efforts to mobilise funds for the purpose. The government said that the CRDA officials held a meeting with the bankers on March 23 and added that they were yet to get any response from the bankers with regard to sanction of loans for capital city works.

The government informed the court that the previous government raised loans from the banks and the financial institutions and added that the present government was supposed to pay interest for such loans. It said the government was facing a shortage of funds to clear dues of bills for the works taken up by the contractors for the capital city.