Vijayawada, May 29 Describing Amaravati as "the people's capital" (praja rajadhani, in Telugu) of Andhra Pradesh and lashing out at the naysayers and critics, the State Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, has asserted that the new capital will be built on a grand scale and "it will not only symbolise the pride of Andhras but will also act as the economic growth engine of the State".

He was speaking here on Tuesday, the concluding day of the Telugu Desam Party's annual convention, Mahanadu. He said the construction of Amaravati would entail an expenditure of Rs 45,000 crore in the first phase, and tenders had already been called for works worth Rs 24,000 crore.

He explained at length the many features of the new capital and the various educational institutions, hospitals and hotels coming up there and about the outer ring road and inner ring road.

After bifurcation, he said, AP had been left without a capital and it was not unreasonable on his part or on the part of the people of the State to dream of having a world -lass city as the capital and "the Union Government is honour-bound to assist the State in the construction. Instead of doing that, the BJP leaders and their friends are creating all sorts of hurdles. Sanctioning a mere Rs 1,500 crore for the capital, Mr. Amit Shah is levelling all sorts of absurd allegations against the State Government."

Comparison with Dholera

The Chief Minister also drew a comparison with Dholera, the smart city project coming up in Gujarat, to expose what he called "the double standards of the BJP leaders". A video was shown at the Mahanadu which showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi making an announcement about Dholera smart city coming up on Gujarat coast, 80 km from Ahmedabad, and "it will be twice the size of New Delhi and six times the size of Shanghai."

The Chief Minister concluded, "Friends, you have just now seen the video of the honourable Prime Minister explaining proudly about Dholera smart city project coming up in Gujarat. They need Dholera in Gujarat, which already has a big capital city. Here we are without a capital and we are admonished for harbouring pipe dreams on Amaravati. I need not say anything. It is there for all to see."