City of Immortals: Why Modi staying in power depends on his ally’s old dream

After ten years in power with his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the majority, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged from the 2024 election dependent on the BJP’s allies to continue to govern. The largest ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), with its 16 members of Parliament, and headed by three-time Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Naidu’s main demand for keeping Modi in power: that the central government revive and finance his dream project of a new state capital, named Amravati (‘place for immortals’). It is to be sustainable – and “more modern” than Singapore. 

Naidu visited New Delhi on July 4, before Modi left for Moscow for the first bilateral visit of his third term – and demanded more than one trillion rupees ($12 billion) in grants, of which 500 billion rupees was for building Amaravati.

Out of the total 1 trillion rupees, Naidu sought an allocation of 150 billion rupees for Amravati in the current fiscal year.

Modi has no choice as his BJP has only 240 MPs; 272 are needed to control Parliament. People expect that whatever Naidu wants, Naidu will get.

A Dream is Born

The idea of Amaravati was born following the 2014 bifurcation of the formerly united state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and a smaller AP. The united state’s capital was Hyderabad which Naidu, in his first avatar as CM (1995-2004), was credited with turning it into a global technology hub; the IT part of the city was dubbed “Cyberabad.”

However, the bifurcation sent Hyderabad to Telangana, and Naidu, whose stronghold was the residual AP, had to scout for a new capital when he became the first CM of the new AP. He zeroed in on Amaravati.

Centuries ago, Amaravati was a hub of Buddhism and the seat of power for the ancient Satavahana dynasty, whose rule began in the late 2nd century BCE and lasted until the 3rd century CE. The new capital was proposed on a tract of fertile land surrounded by the hills of the Eastern ghats (mountain passes), and located 300km from Hyderabad, and halfway between AP’s commercial capital Vijayawada and its agricultural hub, Guntur.

Naidu’s team roped in a group of architects at London-based Foster + Partners to finalize the master plan for Amaravati, which they did in 2017.

Situated on the banks of India’s third longest river, the Krishna, the lavish design included offices on the riverfront, water taxis, lush green parks, access to hospitals within ten minutes, cycling tracks, walkways and solar panels on all rooftops, making Amaravati the most sustainable city in the world.

But two years later, a bitter political rivalry took center stage and the grand plans for the mega city ground to a halt after Naidu lost power and a new CM, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, stopped the project. His five years in power turned Amaravati into a ghost town. 

Now, it’s coming back to life. 

The Original Master Plan

The city’s master plan divided it into nine zones: government, sports, health, electronics, tourism, knowledge, finance, justice, and media city. It had a 22km Krishna waterfront for the city’s civic core and central business district (CBD). The entire plan was in alignment with ‘Vastu Shastra’ (traditional Hindu architecture).

A green space, inspired by Lutyens’ Delhi and New York City’s Central Park, was planned. The city, to house over 3.5 million people, was to be completed by 2029.

The World Bank committed to a $300 million loan while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) committed to a $200 million loan. A Singapore-based consortium of Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development submitted a proposal for the master development of the 6.84 sq km area, forming the commercial and seed core of Amaravati, spread across 219 square kms.

Once built, Amaravati would be the country’s second major “planned city,” the first being north India’s Chandigarh built by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier at the invitation of then PM Jawaharlal Nehru.

In October 2015, PM Modi laid the foundation for Amaravati amid fanfare, consecrated by soil from Buddhist pilgrimage center Bodh Gaya, as well as from other shrines across India.

Back then, the Naidu government had invited tenders worth 480 billion rupees during the first phase of the project and paid out nearly 90 billion rupees for work including building construction, road laying, and sanitation. His team anticipated a capital expenditure of 510 billion rupees for the first phase.

30,000 Farmers Pitched In

Releasing a ‘white paper’ on Amaravati this month, Naidu said 53,478 acres of land was available for building the city, of which 8,278 acres had been set aside for monetization. 

Until 2019, a total of 29,881 farmers, big and small, parted with their land; 20,490 farmers donated less than an acre, while 5,227 donated land between two and five acres. Over 800 farmers donated more than five acres of land, while 25 donated more than 25 acres.

In return for every acre given, the government allotted farmers 1,000 square yards of residential land and another 250 sq yd of commercial land (450 sq yd in the case of fertile/irrigated land surrendered). They would also be paid an annuity for lost income, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 rupees.

A body looking after the farmers’ interests says that after land is allocated to 140 state and central institutions, hospitals, educational institutions, infrastructural facilities, community centers, and parks, etc., the government would still have over 8,000 acres. “It can be used for developing Amravati’s infrastructure,” G. Tirupati Rao, the committee’s convenor, told RT. 

“To execute the entire master plan may take about 10-15 years,” Rao said. “But the structures can be built in the next three years as a majority are 90% done. A project of this magnitude needs to be developed stage by stage.”

Rao’s committee undertook a 1,631-day agitation against CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s shelving of the Amravati project during his five-year tenure.

Jagan’s Three Capitals Plan

Just days after Jagan took over in May 2019, he did not want Naidu’s ‘baby’ to succeed, according to Rao. So Jagan alleged massive corruption in the Amaravati project, and laid the groundwork to cancel it eventually. By December 2019, he made a unique proposal for three capitals for the state: Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital and Amaravati as the legislative capital.

Farmers who had given up their lands immediately took to the streets in protest. They were beaten by police, and the controversy snowballed. The matter went to court, with the AP High Court ruling that Jagan’s government had no grounds to stop Amravati’s development, as the state government was committed to a signed agreement.

It also directed Jagan’s government to develop Amaravati within six months and stick to the master plan prepared by his predecessor. The government promptly approached the Supreme Court, which stayed the high court’s decision.

“When Amaravati was initially announced, the land ranged from Rs 2 million ($24,000) to Rs 5 million ($60,000) per acre in different villages,” Rao said. “When Jagan came to power, no one was interested in purchasing the land. Now with Naidu back at the helm, prices have skyrocketed. One acre is now Rs 30-50 million ($360,000 to $600,000).

Amaravati Today

Half-constructed buildings, clogged drainage systems, and dug-up approach roads are what greets visitors to Amaravati today. The buildings include 13-floor legislators’ apartments, All India Service multi-storeyed apartments, bungalows meant for top administrators, the secretariat and General Administration Department towers, and non-governmental organization (NGO) quarters.

The only functional buildings are the High Court and the legislative assembly.

But over the past three weeks, Amaravati has witnessed a burst of activity. Excavators, tractors and other heavy machinery are clearing the overgrowth and the drainage. Senior government officials visit daily to supervise work and to assess the next few steps.

“The government will stick to the old master plan designed by Foster + Partners,” P. Narayana said, the minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD).

Naidu Rides Again

“Amaravati will be our capital,” Naidu declared after storming back to power on June 4. “You will now witness hectic activity as new roads will be laid and all other facilities created.”

During a visit, Naidu, who prostrated himself at the site, sought suggestions from the public on how to develop Amaravati; he accused his predecessor of causing “complete devastation.” “I am not able to understand what to do, where to start and how to proceed,” he said, filled with emotion.

There are challenges ahead. The World Bank and AIIB withdrew from the project after Jagan shelved it in 2019. Getting them back on board, along with other international firms had signed on, is a major task. Naidu has now set a 30-month deadline to complete the construction of those buildings that are 90% finished.