New AP capital in Vijayawada region

Ending a three-month speculation, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced that the capital of the residual state will be located in the Vijayawada region.

He told the state Assembly here that more than 50 per cent of the people who gave representations to the five-member Sivaramakrishnan committee, established by the Union government, chose Vijayawada.

The announcement came five days after the state cabinet approved Vijayawada region as capital, rejecting the Sivaramakrishnan committee’s suggestion to decentralise the government establishment and not to locate everything in one place like Hyderabad.

Reading a 20-page statement in the Legislative Assembly amid a din caused by the Opposition YSR Congress, Naidu said: “The Cabinet met on September 1 and resolved to locate the capital city in a central place of the state, around Vijayawada, and go for decentralised development of the state with three mega cities and 14 smart cities. A cabinet subcommittee has been set up to look into the acquisition of required land through land pooling.” 

Naidu rejected the Opposition’s demand for a debate and said he has no “vested” interest in deciding on Vijayawada as the capital.

“Even I wanted Tirupati as capital. But it’s a conscious decision to choose Vijayawada as capital as it is centrally located and the cabinet has approved its selection,” Naidu said, trying to pacify the agitated YSRC members.

The chief minister also proposed eight resolutions for the nod of the Assembly, which will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The resolutions include displeasure over the unscientific bifurcation of the state, commitment to develop all areas of the state, seeking Union government’s support to develop Vijayawada and surrounding area, implementation of all the provisions in the AP State Reorganisation Act, providing level-playing field for AP, financial assistance, assistance to complete Polavaram multi-purpose project within four years and increasing number of seats in AP legislative council to 58.

Since Wednesday, opposition leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been questioning the logic of selecting a capital without a debate. “Can there be a judgment without trial?” he asked. He was demanding the Speaker to allow a debate reminding that there was a five-day-long debate in the Assembly when the state was looking for a capital following its bifurcation from Tamil Nadu. The House had to be adjourned twice as the Opposition legislators stormed into the Well of the House, holding placards and raising slogans.

Sources in the government said either Nuziveedu in Krishna district or Mangalagiri, a satellite town near Vijayawada, could become the capital city, which fits into the criterion of the government.