Amaravati/Chennai: Its design was drawn up by global architectural firms in 2014, inspired by Lutyens’ Delhi and New York’s Central Park. Urban forests and water bodies were to dot this 217 sq km sprawl on the south bank of river Krishna. And it was expected to be ready by 2024. But reality has turned out otherwise for Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.

       In May, when this writer visited the proposed city area, there were no lush green manicured lawns or well-laid-out trees as the city plan had envisaged. Instead, thorny bushes, seven feet tall, dotted the landscape. Scrabble under them and you will find the foundation stone laid to build a permanent complex for the Andhra Pradesh high court. A few metres away, there is a large water body. A closer look reveals iron rods jutting out of the water’s surface. This is the submerged foundation of the high court complex, which was to have a stepped roof modelled on ancient stupas.

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       The submerged foundation of the proposed high court complex. (Photo: N. Madhavan)

       A few kilometres away, the state assembly, a building planned with a 250-metre-high conical roof, was to sit in the middle of a large freshwater lake. All one can see is the foundation, again flooded.

       The roads are wide but empty. In places, they are lined with large unused pipes. The area is dotted with partly completed high-rises and other buildings meant to be occupied by bureaucrats, judges and members of the state assembly. In one of these buildings, a group of men are busy drinking alcohol and playing cards. Loud Telugu music, streamed from their phones, keeps them entertained.

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       Buildings meant for government officials haven’t been completed. (Photo: N. Madhavan)

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