Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan's nod for three capitals receives mixed response

Visakhapatnam: With the Bill for Andhra Pradesh's three capitals getting Governor's nod, Visakhapatnam is all set to become the executive capital.

Ever since the YSRCP government came to power, the focus has been much on decentralised administration. But due to the Legislative Council's decision and legal intervention, the three-capital move got delayed.

On June 16, the State government again brought the Bills before the Assembly and forwarded them to the Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan for his nod.

Celebrations erupted in several parts of the district as the Governor gave his nod to the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill and AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Bill on Friday.

Following which, the Cabinet Ministers are on an announcement-spree that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will soon be laying the foundation stone for the executive capital in Visakhapatnam. Once the exercise related to the executive capital commences, the landscape of North Andhra is going to witness a sea change. In line with this, various political party leaders shared their views with The Hans India.

Sharing his opinion, Visakhapatnam MP M V V Satyanarayana says, "Decentralised administration is one of the best decisions taken by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The move plays a crucial role in developing all the 13 districts of the State on various fronts. Despite the Opposition's unending efforts to block the major development, the State government is able to get the Bills approved by the Governor."

Expressing similar views, YSRCP Chodavaram MLA Karanam Dharmasri opines, "With Visakhapatnam getting the executive capital tag, there is a wider scope for generating Rs 3 lakh crore revenue across North Andhra in future. This apart, Visakhapatnam will also attract development from neighbouring States such as Chhattisgarh and Odisha."

Though decentralised administration is a welcome move, BJP MLC P V N Madhav points out that an element of 'selfishness' cannot be ruled out in making Visakhapatnam as the executive capital.

According to him, the step towards making three capitals in the garb of 'equal' development has an 'ulterior motive'. "The TDP's decision to make Amaravati as a sole capital and the YSRCP's three-capital move were not people-centric," he emphasises.

As a resident of Visakhapatnam, TDP State general secretary and Gajuwaka former MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao welcomes the move of Vizag becoming the executive capital. "But the focus should be on development rather than on administration. Administration becomes easy only when all the facilities related to judicial, legislative and executive capitals are located in one place.

Eventually, the YSRCP is sure to regret the three-capitals move in future," stresses Srinivasa Rao.

Expressing his opinion, Congress State secretary S Sudhakar claims that 'revenge politics' is afoot through the approval of the three-capitals decision.

"When Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was the Opposition leader, why did the YSRCP government agree to make Amaravati as the sole capital city? Shifting of the capital city is involved with thousands of crores of public money which is only going to be wasted," he adds.