Jagan Reddy said Andhra Pradesh could have three capitals at Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has proposed three capital cities for the state instead of one grand futuristic capital city that his predecessor Chandrababu Naidu proposed at Amaravati.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said in the state assembly that Andhra Pradesh could have an executive capital at Visakhapatnam, a legislative capital at Amaravati and a judicial capital at Kurnool.
This, the chief minister perhaps reckons, will make people of all three regions in the state happy and ensure balanced development.
Vizag, also called the City of Destiny, is in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati is in coastal Andhra and Kurnool is in Rayalaseema and was in fact the capital of Andhra state in the 1950s.
On May 30, Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed office and ordered the stoppage of all infrastructure development works, including those undertaken in Amaravati, triggering speculation that his government might relocate the state capital city.
In September, the government constituted an expert committee headed by retired IAS officer G Nageswara Rao to determine the scope and shape of the capital, among other things.
The final decision on three capitals will be taken after the G Nageswara Rao committee submits its final report in a week.
"A reputed consultancy firm will also give its report and a decision will be taken after discussing the details and logistics," the chief minister said.
What this also does is to virtually sink the Rs 9,000 crore that the Chandrababu Naidu government spent on building what he hoped would be a dream capital. It will now be limited to an assembly building.
Second, the temporary Secretariat built at Velagapudi at a cost of Rs 230 crore will now have to shift to Vizag where a new complex will have to be built.
This will be the second time employees will have to shift city. They had moved out of Hyderabad into Vijayawada in 2016 after bifurcation. The coordination between the legislature and the Secretariat may also turn into an issue.