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    Build a new capital for Coastal Andhra

    Synopsis

    Having created Telangana, the Centre can do a whole lot more than look on as coastal Andhra goes into convulsions of angst and anger.

    ET Bureau
    Having created Telangana, the Centre can do a whole lot more than look on as coastal Andhra goes into convulsions of angst and anger. A realistic arrangement on sharing river waters is a prime concern. The Centre should move proactively on the subject to specify water entitlements on a per capita or per hectare of land basis that would contain upper riparian highhandedness.

    More potently, the Centre should initiate moves to set up anew capital for Seemandhra. Let the Zilla Parishads of Seemandhra districts compete to come up with, say, 500 sq km of unencumbered land on which to build a shining new town.

    The land acquisition process can innovate on the provisions of the new land bill, try pooling of land and lease, to ensure that gains and losses are shared alike by residents, instead of forcing some people to bear the entire burden of land loss, while others reap the gains of appreciation that would flow from urbanisation.

    Let the new town be built using the latest advances in town planning, integrating mixed commercial and residential uses with the new focus on mobility and connectivity, combining high density with energy efficiency and water conservation. Let engineering colleges around Andhra and experts from the Telugu diaspora take part in finalising the plans.

    Let the construction be parcelled out to a number of builders, with an identified nodal agency for coordination and supervision. Let other experts plan for urban self-governance in which administrative control over staff at the town level vests in the local government and revenue generation sources are mapped out.

    As India urbanises fast, with the southern states leading the charge, new towns have to come up, inevitably. Let the creation of a new state be the occasion for building a model planned town that would eschew ghettos and slums, minimise the need for private transport, conserve energy and water and create so much new income that the need to harvest it would divert energies currently being wasted in disruptive agitation.
    The Economic Times

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