Express News Service By

VIJAYAWADA: AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), which has jurisdiction over 8,000 sq km has decided to conduct Socio-Economic Survey in the capital region from March 28 to April 30. Capital city region comprising 29 villages in Thullur, Mangalagiri and Tadepalli mandals of Guntur district would, however, be excluded from the survey.

RV Associates, a consultancy agency has been entrusted with the task of conducting the survey, which will be a random sample survey. According to CRDA officials, the main objective of the survey is to revise the zonal development plans of VGTM UDA, the predecessor of APCRDA and also for preparing concept master plans and detailed master plans for the newly added regions.

After APCRDA came into being in 2014, all the regions under Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali, Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTM UDA) was brought under APCRDA. In 2015, Government had increased the jurisdiction of APCRDA, by further expanding the capital region limits.

At present, APCRDA planning covers Vijayawada and Guntur municipal corporations, Tenali, Mangalagiri, Tadepalli, Jaggaiahpet, Nuzvid, Gudivada, Ponnuru and Sattenapalle municipalities, Nandigama and Vyuru Nagar panchayats and 951 villages in Krishna and Guntur districts.

The existing zonal development plans under the region that used to be under VGTM UDA purview were more than a decade old. Since the capital city is being constructed, there is need for revision of the zonal development plans. APCRDA officials in a press release maintained that without participation of people in planning, modalities of development plans cannot be worked out. Hence they are conducting the socio-economic survey.

In all the capital region areas comprising of 43 mandals in Krishna and Guntur districts have been categorised into eight zones and based on the socio-economic survey report, concept plans and detailed/master plans for each zone will be developed separately.