The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to lay the foundation stone for the new capital city of Amaravati on October 22 while also announcing commencement pf works on the Polavaram project.

The State cabinet, which met here late on Saturday chaired by N Chandrababu Naidu, has decided to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for both the capital city and also commence works on the Multi-purpose Polavaram hydel project, which has been accorded national project status by the Centre.

The Polavaram project seeks to harness the water which goes untapped into the sea by diverting the water and meeting the requirements of the delta region and other parts of the State. The project, which has been pending for several decades, is likely to be expedited and proposed to be completed within three-four years.

LIQUOR

During the meeting, the Government has also decided to allow setting up of more distilleries in the State as the requirement is being currently met through imports from other States.

The Government proposes to come out with a new policy which will lay down guidelines for setting up of new distilleries. The Cabinet also decided to rename the AP Beverages Corporation Limited as the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation. In the recent liquor policy valid for two years and effective from July 1, the Government had decided that 10 per cent of the total retail outlets would be managed by the State aimed at keeping a tab on the retail prices.