Andhra ministers push CM Jagan’s three-capitals plan, TDP says they’re wary of losing berths

On March 3, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the government to develop Amaravati as the capital under the Capital Region Development Authority Act of the TDP government. But the Jagan government has challenged the order in the apex court.

“I strongly feel that decentralised development is the only solution in Andhra Pradesh. I hail from Srikakulam and I know that the north Andhra Pradesh region has not received as much attention as other areas. The same is the case with Rayalaseema. We should not make the same mistake again when we have the chance to change that,’’ Rao said. “If Visakhapatnam is made the administrative capital, north coastal Andhra Pradesh will develop quickly. At present there is hardly any development.”

“If only one area receives all the attention, other regions will be neglected. North Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema are suffering because before the bifurcation of the state, the focus was on developing Hyderabad and after the bifurcation, the TDP set its sights on Amaravati. Decentralised development means all regions will develop,’’ said Satyanarayana.

Rao said that he would launch a movement in support of making Visakhapatnam the executive or administrative capital. “Chandrababu Naidu has failed to learn a lesson even after the bifurcation of the state and is opposing decentralised development because TDP leaders have real estate businesses in Amaravati,’’ the revenue minister said.

TDP state president K Atchannaidu said the ministers feared losing their berths if they opposed the chief minister’s three-capitals proposal. “It is also a tactic to divert attention from the YSRCP government’s failure… If Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is so keen about his idea of three capitals, he should dissolve the Assembly and seek a fresh mandate by making it a referendum,’’ he said.

“The TDP government has already built a high court complex, a legislature complex, high-rise buildings with spacious flats for IAS officers, and wide six-lane roads. A storm-water drainage system has already been laid. Why waste all that has already been established? The Amaravati area is equidistant from north Andhra and Rayalaseema,’’ he said.

BJP state president Somu Veeraju said the government had not done anything to Visakhaptnam since it came to power in May 2019. “They are talking of developing north Andhra Pradesh, but what has the YSRCP done so far in this region? So many projects are pending but they are talking of making Visakhapatnam the administrative capital,’’ he said.