Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has called for Indian cities to move from concrete-led development towards green, circular and regenerative urban growth, while presenting Amaravati as an environment-friendly city designed for future generations. Naidu made the remarks at the inauguration of the Earth Centre at Whitefield in Bengaluru on Sunday, alongside Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
The Earth Centre has been designed by integrating nature, technology and a modern work environment. The project places emphasis on sustainable construction, connections with nature and the use of recycled materials. Naidu said buildings should not merely consume resources but should be designed to use them intelligently and, where possible, generate resources.
“Development should not stop, but it should not hurt the environment,” Naidu said, urging governments to adopt environment-friendly construction methods. He said the effects of climate change were already being experienced and should not be treated as a distant challenge. Environmental protection, he added, should be treated as a shared responsibility.
Naidu called for net-zero approaches in building construction, increased use of solar power and stronger water conservation measures. He also underlined the need to convert waste into compost and expand reuse, linking these measures to the objectives of Swachh Bharat, Swachh Karnataka and Swachh Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister said buildings being constructed today would influence the climate and environmental conditions of cities in the coming decades. He described rooftops as potential sources of clean energy, water as a resource that should be reused and waste streams as inputs that could be recovered. Protecting water and soil, he said, was also a way of creating wealth.
Naidu said the nature-first principle promoted by his government through zero-budget natural farming should also be applied to urban development. He said Andhra Pradesh would play a key role in the national target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity by 2030, adding that the state was planning around 165 GW of renewable energy capacity.
He also linked the green-growth agenda to Amaravati, which he said was being developed as an environment-friendly city combining nature, technology and modern infrastructure. Recalling his role in developing Cyberabad when Andhra Pradesh was undivided, Naidu said he had been given another opportunity to build a city suited to future generations.
Naidu congratulated Raghuveer Veeramachaneni, Praveen Kumar, the Vista Spaces team and representatives of Venkataramanan Associates for designing the Earth Centre with an emphasis on future requirements and environmental protection. The inauguration places the project and the state’s stated green urban development approach within a wider debate over how new buildings and cities can reduce resource consumption while continuing to accommodate growth.
