Explained: The 13 new districts of Andhra Pradesh, and why they have been created

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When did this idea of having more districts come up?

The Chief Minister has long maintained that the state should have more, smaller districts. Before the 2019 Assembly elections, he had promised that if the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) came to power, it would create new districts based on parliamentary constituencies in the state. Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha constituencies.

In his Republic Day address this year, 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.

Soon afterward, the government had issued a draft notification under The Andhra Pradesh Districts (Formation) Act, 1974, saying boundaries of existing districts would be redrawn to double the number of districts or revenue divisions to 26.

So which district boundaries have been changed now?

Barring the districts of Srikakulam, Prakasam, and Nellore, the remaining 10 existing districts have been divided into two or more districts each.

• Vizianagaram district has been bifurcated to create the new, totally tribal district of Parvathipuram Manyam.
• From Visakhapatnam, two new districts of Anakapalli and Alluri Seetharama Raju, have been carved out. The latter district, part of the Araku parliamentary constituency, is also totally tribal, and named after the legendary freedom fighter who led the 1922 Rampa tribal rebellion.
• The existing district of East Godavari has been split into three, and two new districts of Kakinada and Konaseema have come into existence.
• Eluru has been carved out of West Godavari district.
• Guntur district has been split into three, with two new districts of Palnadu and Bapatla.
• Nandyala has been carved out of Kurnool as a separate district.
• Sri Sathya Sai district has been taken out of Anantapur.
• Sri Balaji district has been created out of Chittoor. It will have the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara located atop Tirumala, and the pilgrim town of Tirupati.
• Annamaya district has been carved out of Kadapa.
• The new district of NTR has been created out of the existing Krishna district. Naming a district after the founder of the TDP has been a surprise to the main opposition party. Chief Minister Reddy said on Monday that his government had also accorded revenue division status to Kuppam, from where TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is MLA, in view of Naidu’s request. His government had done what Naidu had failed to do despite having served as Chief Minister for 14 years, Reddy said.

What is the reason for creating the new districts?

Decentralisation and smaller administrative units will bring better administration, transparency, and smoother and more effective delivery of welfare, Chief Minister Reddy said on Monday. The draft notification issued in January had said the step was being taken in the interest of better administration and development.

As many as 38.15 lakh people live in each of the existing 13 districts of the state on average, a very high number that has now been brought down to 19.07 lakh with the creation of the new districts, the Chief Minister said. Even a small state like Arunachal Pradesh has 25 districts for better administration, Reddy said.

The CM said that the role and scope of collectors have widened from merely collecting revenue to heading the delivery mechanism of welfare schemes and outreach to people, and the focus of all 26 district collectors should now be on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The reforms are aimed at bringing the administration closer to the people, he said.

Why has the government’s move been criticised?

Human and civil rights activists, NGOs, and other organisations have been arguing that while the formation of smaller districts for better governance is a good idea in principle, there are issues around the way the government has gone about implementing it.

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, the new boundaries will put 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.

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“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”.