The State government has constituted a 16-member high-power committee to examine the reports of the expert committee and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on the issue of the State Capital. The government, in a GO issued on Sunday, said the committee should give its recommendations within three weeks.
The committee comprises Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, Industries Minister Mekapati Gowtham Reddy, Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh, Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita, Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Kurasala Kanna Babu, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Marketing Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani) Transport & Information & Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani), Principal Advisor to Chief Minister, Director General of Police, Chief Commission of LA & Special Chief Secretary, and Secretary (MA & UD), Secretary (Law). The Chief Secretary will act as member convenor.
The expert committee headed by former civil servant G.N. Rao, has already submitted its report. It favoured decentralisation of administration with Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool as Executive, legislative and judicial capitals respectively. The government had asked the expert committee to take stock of the developmental plans initiated so far and suggest a comprehensive strategy for all-round development of the State, including the Capital. The BCG group is expected to submit its report in the first week of January.
CM’s statement
A day before the expert committee submitted its report, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, during a short discussion on the Capital in the Assembly, indicated that the State could have three capitals as decentralisation was a real concept.
The announcement triggered protests in the Capital Amaravati area. Sensing the mood of the people in the region, especially farmers who had parted with huge chunks of land to facilitate the construction of Amaravati, the government deferred its decision and constituted the high-power committee.
