The State government has set the ball rolling for formation of a new district exclusively with the Agency areas from East and West Godavari districts and 11 Polavaram project-affected mandals which were recently merged with Andhra Pradesh.
The West Godavari district administration on Wednesday conducted a public hearing at Jangareddygudem under the aegis of Collector Katamneni Bhaskar to invite feedback from elected representatives and civil society organisations representing Adivasis.The government has proposed to carve out a new tribal district to be named after Alluri Sitarama Raju with Rampachodavaram as its headquarters. However, a section of participants at the public hearing at Jangareddygudem favoured the district headquarters at Polavaram instead of Rampachodavaram. In all, the new district will consist of 21 mandals according to the proposal with around 6.5 lakh population in 11 mandals from East Godavari district, three mandas from West Godavari and seven mandals from Telangana.
Endowed with rich mineral deposits such as Bauxite and Laterite, a lush-green forest cover with a range of forest produce, coffee and rubber plantations, and the new tribal district in the offing is all set to turn into a paradise for tourists. “The objective is to provide a better access to administration for Adivasis. But, it will happen the other way round for tribal people in West Godavari and another seven mandals if Rampachodavaram becomes district headquarters,” says Juvvala Babji of Medha Patkar’s National Alliance for People’s Movement. Denied of road connectivity, people would have to cross Godavari to reach district headquarters.
