VIJAYAWADA: Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said the state government will come back with new decentralisation Bills to create multiple capital cities.
“While taking into consideration the aspirations of the people of all regions and keeping in mind the questions or objections raised so far, we will come back with a detailed Bill for decentralisation. We are withdrawing the present Bill with a realistic approach,” said Jagan in the state assembly. He was speaking on the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act 2021 and the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Repeal Act 2021.
Jagan said the people of Rayalaseema region have sacrificed the capital in Kurnool and accepted Hyderabad as the capital in 1956. However, after bifurcation in 2014, the capital was not given to them nor their feelings were respected and aspirations considered, he alleged.
The chief minister also favoured Visakhapatnam which he said was “a developed city having all infrastructure to compete with Hyderabad and Bengaluru.”
“I love this place (Amaravati). My house is located here. But it is neither part of Vijayawada nor Guntur. It requires Rs 1 lakh crore to develop, as per the statements of the previous government, which conceived this place for capital. But, Visakhapatnam needs only a facelift and not such a huge amount,” Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
He further said that the state government was committed to the decentralisation of development and administration as well. While reiterating his commitment for the three capitals proposal, the chief minister said that the government would re-examine all aspects, consider all objections raised and re-introduce the bills at a later date.
