Velagapudi may not host next Assembly Session

​Amaravati: It seems that grand plans of the State government to conduct the next Assembly session in interim Secretariat complex in Velagapudi, may not materialise. Primarily, due to change of plans in Assembly building which is under construction in Velagapudi in Amaravati capital region along with relocation of chambers as per vaastu and expanding seating capacity of members are some of the reasons for holding the next Assembly session in Hyderabad, which is proposed exclusively to pass the GST bill.

The State government decided to conduct the Assembly session at new building which is now under construction at Secretariat complex. Initially, the government made plans to complete the construction works by December 15 and wanted to conduct the Assembly session at the end of December by taking special permission, even though the GST bill has to be passed and sent it to Union government by November itself.

But now with alterations of Assembly building plans demanding additional time since works can be finished by January 15 only, says one senior official. Apparently, spacious two capacity model sitting system along with relocating of chambers as per vaastu will push the deadline for completion by few more weeks.

According to officials, the CM is very keen on constructing spacious halls with high-end interior works, so deadline is bound to be extended, says an official. Presently, the L&T is constructing the Assembly building with one lakh square feet space with eight feet height in the Secretariat complex.

Vaastu pundits suggested officials to remove one chamber which is already constructed and allot that space for corridor. Besides, the officials are changing plans to construct the hall with 200 seating capacity since the designs were finalised for only 60 members.

However, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed the officials to enhance the seating capacity.
If the government wants to conduct the Assembly session at Velagapudi, nearly 200 employees of Assembly should also take part in the arrangements. Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad also confirmed it recently.

Some of the functionaries, material, staff should be shifted to new Assembly building location from Hyderabad ahead of schedule. But still several works are incomplete at this stage.

Moreover, the Assembly proceedings should not be conducted without completing the works on the lines of Secretariat complex. For instance, even though several works yet to be completed but the government started its governance from the complex. But the same formula cannot be applied for Assembly session, he added.

On the other hand, providing accommodation is big challenge for government. Yanamala Ramakrishna said that in his recent press conference admitted that ‘process is difficult’ but government has already started searching for accommodation facilities in Vijayawada and Guntur cities. Nearly 600 members including MLAs and officials from various departments should attend the Assembly proceedings.