The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, which met here for four hours on Wednesday, approved the master plan for the new capital - Amaravati - submitted by the Singapore team.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been camping here since July 14, the day the Godavari maha pushkaram began. The Singapore team submitted the master plan to the Chief Minister on Monday.
The Cabinet first passed a resolution condoling the death of 27 devotees in a stampede at the pushkar ghat on the first day of the pushkaram. It was decided to hold an inquiry into the incident. The first phase of the capital may be completed by 2018. It was also decided to constitute a five-member committee to undertake study tours of several cities in the world and make suitable suggestions.
The Cabinet has decided to shift as many government offices as possible to Vijayawada and Guntur from Hyderabad. The strike by the municipal staff in the State also came up for discussion.
Agri subsidy The Cabinet decided to release agricultural input subsidy of ₹690 crore for the 2014 kharif season.
It was decided to develop a “Godavari pushkar garden” on 260 acres at Diwancheruvu near here.
The Cabinet also approved allocation of 2,297 acres for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Kurnool district and also 100 acres to a private company in Vizianagaram district for development of a golf course.
Encroached areas It was also decided to regularise the government sites encroached upon by the poor in certain areas of the State and a Cabinet sub-committee will be constituted to implement the initiative.