Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao on Monday stated that the K.V. Sivaramakrishnan Committee’s recommendations would be the only option to decide the capital of Andhra Pradesh by adopting the ‘decentralisation’ policy for development and better administration.
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Addressing the gathering at a round-table conference on ‘decentralisation policy and benefits’ here, Mr. Prasada Rao said, “Mr. Sivaramakrishnan’s report is still a valid document for Andhra Pradesh. The city of Visakhapatnam is equipped with an ecosystem that deserves to be the State’s administrative capital.”
Representing the northern Andhra Pradesh region in the meet, Mr. Prasada Rao said decentralisation policy supported the idea of three capitals.
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Former Agriculture Minister and Kakinada Rural MLA Kurasala Kannababu said, “The State’s financial resources will be inadequate to build the capital city of Amaravati. The Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS) has warned that the idea of Amaravati was not viable but the previous government had gone ahead with it.”
Regional boards
On regional development of the State, Rajamahendravaram MP Margani Bharat said that the State government would come up with regional boards that would focus exclusively on the respective region such as Northern Andhra, Krishna-Godavari and Rayalaseema.
In his conclusive remarks at the conference, Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ch. Venu Gopala Krishna said that reorganisation of districts, village secretariat system and three capital ideas were part of the decentralisation policy. The Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government had already committed itself to the decentralisation policy, he added.
Rajya Sabha MP Pilli Subhashchandra Bose presided over the conference.