Two urban experts - Vikram Soni and Romi Khosla - have cautioned the Andhra Pradesh Government against building Amaravati, the new capital, too close to the river Krishna on floodplains and urged the Government to push the capital inland.
They were speaking here on Wednesday after releasing a booklet authored by them - Amaravati natural city - on the issue. Earlier on Tuesday the two had released the book in Vijayawada.
The two experts said the master plan prepared by Subarna Jurong Pvt. Limited of Singapore "envisages construction of building too close to the river on the floodplains and it would spell disaster, as experience had shown in Chennai, Mumbai and Uttarakhand. In Chennai, the floodplains of Adyar and Coovam rivers were destroyed with harmful consequences. Therefore, we advise the AP Government to give up the master plan and keep the river zone free. The Capital can be moved inward, away from the Krishna."
The two advised the AP Government to give up the idea of building Amaravati "as a mega, invasive city destroying the ecology in the region and creating huge problems later on. Such cities cannot survive in the future. Nature can be ignored only at our peril."
Instead, the two proposed Amaravati as a natural city, leaving a 2.5 km wide natural floodplain on both sides of the river. The city is built along the river length of 18-20 km. Habitation is strictly kept out of the floodplains for 10 km upstream and downstream from the city.