Andhra gets 13 more districts in line with CM's 'decentralisation vision'

In a major administrative change, 13 new districts have come into force in Andhra Pradesh from Monday, doubling the number of such divisions to 26.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has described the alteration of the districts — seen as the third level of governance after national, state — into smaller units as part of his “commitment to decentralisation for development and balanced growth in the state”.

Reddy inaugurated the 13 newly carved districts virtually on Monday, and said that the new districts are to “provide better administration, transparency and to make the welfare delivery smooth and effective”.

The new districts are Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Seetharamaraju, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Konaseema, Eluru, NTR, Palanadu, Bapatla, Nandyala, Sri Satya Sai, Annamayya and Tirupati.

Justifying his decision to create more districts, the CM stated that even smaller states like Arunachal Pradesh have 25 districts for providing better administration. There are 727 districts across the country.

“Andhra Pradesh is the only state with a high average of 38.15 lakh people in each district. With the creation of 13 more districts, the average population density has now come down to 19.07 lakh. The reform is aimed at bringing administration closer to the people” Reddy said.

The YSRCP had earlier promised to structure each of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state into a district. However, considering the population density the tribal area in northern Andhra Pradesh was split into two districts thus adding one more.

With the inclusion of 21 new revenue divisions, their total number has gone up from 51 to 72.

After one part of the erstwhile Krishna district is named after TDP founder NT Rama Rao, Andhra Pradesh now has two districts bearing the name of former chief ministers. Kadapa was earlier renamed YSR Kadapa, after the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

The tribal agency area is divided into Alluri Seetharamaraju, named after the revered revolutionary who had fought the British during the freedom movement, and Parvathipuram Manyam. Palnadu and Bapatla are created by splitting Guntur. Three new districts in the Rayalaseema region are named Tirupati, Annamayya and Sri Satya Sai districts.

Anakapalle, Kakinada and Eluru are the Lok Sabha constituencies earlier in Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari districts respectively while Konaseema is an extended district of the former Amalapuram constituency, officials said.

The new district proposals made public in January were met with protests in several parts of the state like Rajampeta. However, on Monday, Reddy stated that new districts were formed in accordance with the public opinion after due consideration of 17,500 representations and respecting local sentiments.

Reddy, who on the occasion, interacted with some of the new district collectors said that their focus should be on the Sustainable Development Goals through better delivery of welfare schemes and public outreach. The CM added that their performance would also be assessed based on the achievements on the SDG front.

Collectors, SPs and other district officials would work from the same premises with integrated buildings, to cut the travel time of both the officials and citizens.