Criticising Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s decision to have three state capitals in Andhra Pradesh, TDP leader and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that “effective decentralisation can only be achieved with one central capital — Amaravati.”
Naidu demanded an explanation from Reddy over his apparent hatred with the current capital and his stubbornness to destroy an excellent ongoing project. He reiterated that YSRCP’s action would only push the state into darkness and destroy opportunities for the upcoming generations.
Addressing a press conference here, Naidu said that from the Chief Minister to Ministers, all YCP leaders made pre-poll assurances that they would not change the capital. But now they aren’t even forthcoming to the idea of a fresh mandate on the concept of three capitals. The opposition leader warned the present government that this move will be very detrimental for the future of the state and pointed out that while 132 projects were started in Amaravati, simultaneously 160 additional projects begun in all the 13 districts from Srikakulam (northern district) to Anantapur (near Bangalore).
Five clusters were visualised under the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and another three clusters were planned under Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor. Three mega cities, 14 smart cities, 3 international airports and ports were on the anvil. Naidu also said that 12 out of the total 15 Central government institutions were given to backward regions of Rayalaseema and North Andhra for a balanced development in the state. These included Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management and so on. Seema was converted into a horticulture hub.
Naidu asserted that decentralisation was not a new concept and Amaravati was actually visualised as a vibrant city to achieve the larger objective to ensure decentralised development in the state. It has got huge potential to create spin-off benefits for all districts in the State. Amaravati has also got an excellent self-financing plan such that it would generate funds from out of its own valuable land resources to meet its future infrastructural requirements. The TDP chief said that he had sown the seeds for HiTech City when some sections made fun of that at that time. But, this gradually led to exponential growth in Hyderabad with the help of additional projects like International Airport, Pharma City and Outer Ring Road. Similarly, plans were made for developing Amaravati where 139 projects were lined up. But, the Government has crippled all these projects. He said that the Central Government has a responsibility to intervene and stop capital shifting in the larger interests of AP people.