© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Andhra Pradesh government proposes to create 13 new districts — as many as the number that exist in the state now. According to a draft notification under The Andhra Pradesh Districts (Formation) Act, 1974, boundaries of existing districts will be redrawn to double the number of districts or revenue divisions to 26.
According to the draft notification, the move to create the new districts is in the interest of better administration and development.
Did this idea come up suddenly?
It did not. Before the Assembly elections of 2019, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced that if the YSRCP came to power, he would create new districts based on parliamentary constituencies in the state.
Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha constituencies. The Chief Minister had said at the time that the creation of the new districts would ensure good governance and efficient delivery of services and government schemes.
In his Republic Day address last week, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan referred to the proposal, and said that the new districts may be created by the Telugu New Year in the first week of April.
Which district boundaries will be changed to create the new districts?
According to the government’s proposal, barring the districts of Srikakulam, Prakasam, and Nellore, the remaining 10 will be divided into two or more districts each.
*Vizianagaram district will be bifurcated to create the new district of Manyam;
*From Visakhapatnam, two new districts of Anakapalli and Alluri Sitarama Raju, named after the legendary freedom fighter who led the 1922 Rampa tribal rebellion, are proposed to be created;
*Kakinada and Konaseema districts will be created out of East Godavari district;
*Eluru out of West Godavari district;
*Palnadu and Bapatla from Guntur district;
*Nandyal out of Kurnool district;
*Sri Satya Sai district from Anantapur;
*Sri Balaji out of Chittoor district; and
*Annamaya from Kadapa district.
*The ruling YSRCP has thrown a surprise at the opposition TDP by proposing a district named after TDP founder N T Rama Rao, carved out of the existing Krishna district.
*The Manyam and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts falling under the large Araku Parliamentary constituency will be totally tribal districts.
*Sri Balaji district will comprise the famous Lord Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala, and the temple town of Tirupati.
Why is the proposal being criticised?
Human and civil rights activists, NGOs, and other organisations are saying that while the formation of smaller districts for better governance is in principle a good idea, there are issues around the government’s proposals.
The Human Rights Forum has argued that “the division of districts must be carried out after wide-ranging and meaningful public discussion”, but “there has been neither proper application of mind nor democratic consultation” in this case.
According to the Forum, if the proposal is implemented, it will put a considerable distance between the proposed district headquarters and several places across the state. In some cases, the district headquarters may become more distant and difficult to access.
“What is the point of creating new districts when distances remain considerable? The formation of new districts in this manner will in no way facilitate the stated objective of better administration. Re-organising of districts with parliamentary constituencies as criteria is fundamentally flawed,’’ the HRF stated.
Former IAS officer EAS Sarma has argued that bifurcation of areas with tribal populations is “a violation of tribal rights”.
What happens now?
The state government has stated that this is a draft proposal and asked people to send their objections and suggestions to respective district collectors within a month. Officials said that final decisions on redrawing the boundaries would be taken after consultations with all stakeholders.
