Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu may have selected Amaravati as the new capital and directed all government offices to relocate from Hyderabad to Vijayawada-Guntur, but the nondescript village of Ibrahimpatnam has emerged as the most preferred destination for temporary offices.

Located on the periphery of Vijayawada, Ibrahimpatnam has a population of about 30,000.

It is now buzzing with activity as many government departments have set their eyes on this mandal headquarters, which falls under the Vijayawada city police commissionerate.

The sudden demand has spiked the rents for residential and commercial properties here.

The apparent advantage of Ibrahimpatnam is its location. As it is on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway, one does not need to battle the traffic congestion of Vijayawada.

The travel time from Hyderabad to Ibrahimpatnam is about four hours and it is also located at a stone's throw distance from the upcoming interim government complex at Velagapudi village.

All one has to do is cross river Krishna by boat to reach Velagapudi within a few minutes.

Several departments have identified buildings to locate their temporary offices at Ibrahimpatnam. The education department has identified Anjaneya Towers while the AP Genco, stamps and registration as well as survey and settlement departments too have zeroed in on this village. The finance, pay and accounts, and treasuries departments have decided to set up offices near the village.

However, even as only four days are left for the June 27 deadline for shifting, only 20 of the 89 heads of departments have finalised their offices. The remaining are struggling as they too want the offices to be located on the national highway. "The reason is simple. We can reach the office in three to four hours and also return to Hyderabad whenever there is a need. We need not get into the traffic congestion of Vijayawada, which is experiencing a high VIP movement of late. Narrow roads and lack of flyovers make it difficult to move fast in the city. Having an office near Ibrahimpatnam is ideal for officials who have families in Hyderabad," said a senior government official.

As per the data available with the general administration department (GAD), 20 HoDs will start their operations from June 27 while about 10 HoDs will start from July 15.

"Some have already taken their offices, but the renovation work is going on to refurbish old buildings. This will take one more month and during this time, we have asked the officers to shuttle between Hyderabad and Vijayawada," said an official in GAD.

Among those who have shifted or identified offices in Vijayawada are departments of rural development, housing, irrigation, commercial taxes, excise and three HoDs of the medical and health department. Among those still struggling to find suitable office accommodation are the minorities department and the revenue department, which has sought about 80,000 sq ft area on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway.

Interestingly, 90 per cent of the buildings are owned by people from one community. Private owners have jacked up rents from Rs 25 to Rs 30 per square feet, which is more than the rates prevailing in major cities.



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