Andhra Pradesh Forms Committee to Seek Transit Accommodation in Visakhapatnam
Amaravati, October 12 – The Andhra Pradesh government has established a panel of officials tasked with identifying suitable transit accommodation in Visakhapatnam, including a camp office for the Chief Minister and lodging for senior officials.
This development comes as Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy plans to conduct regular review meetings on the development of north coastal Andhra Pradesh during his visits to Visakhapatnam, as stated in a government order released late Wednesday.
The order, signed by Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy, indicates that Visakhapatnam will also serve as a transit stop for ministers and officials.
The committee, comprising the Special Chief Secretary (MA & UD Department), Special Chief Secretary (Finance Department), and the Secretary (Services & HRM) of the General Administration Department, has been tasked with identifying suitable transit accommodations for offices and submitting a report to the General Administration Department. However, the government did not specify a deadline for the report’s submission.
During a cabinet meeting held last month, the Chief Minister had announced that the state administration would shift to Visakhapatnam on Dussehra and had instructed officials to form a committee for this purpose. However, the latest order mentions that Visakhapatnam will serve as a transit stop for the chief minister, ministers, and officials.
It remains unclear whether the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government has abandoned plans to relocate the administrative capital to Visakhapatnam.
The government order explains that the north coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram-Manyam, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, and Anakapalli continue to display low socio-economic development indicators in areas such as health, education, irrigation, connectivity, and more. The region is home to a significant tribal and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) population in the state.
Four out of five districts in the region have been designated as Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Moreover, certain districts are covered by the Backward Region Grant Fund, and two of the three aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog are located in the Uttarandhra region.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had previously announced that Visakhapatnam would become the state’s executive capital during the Global Investors Summit in Visakhapatnam in March. He had also mentioned plans to relocate to Visakhapatnam.
In December 2019, Jagan Mohan Reddy had unveiled the plan to develop three state capitals, reversing the previous TDP government’s decision to establish Amaravati as the state capital. The YSRCP government proposed Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital, and Amaravati as the legislative capital.
However, protests by Amaravati’s farmers over the capital relocation, coupled with a High Court order instructing the government to develop Amaravati as the state capital, had caused delays. In March 2022, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the state government to develop Amaravati as the state capital within six months. The state government later filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, which granted a stay on the High Court order in November.
The case concerning the three capitals is scheduled for a Supreme Court hearing in December, and the YSRCP government may await the court’s decision before proceeding with the administrative capital relocation.
