According to the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions (APDIDAR) Bill, 2020, the state shall have three capitals. Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region will host the executive capital comprising the Raj Bhavan, the chief minister’s office, the secretariat and the offices of heads of departments, the summer session of the legislative assembly and a bench of the High Court. Amaravati-Mangalgiri Complex will be the seat of the legislative assembly and will inter alia accommodate camp offices of the governor and the chief minister as well as a bench of the High Court. The winter session of the legislative assembly shall be held here. Kurnool will be the judicial capital and the seat of the state’s High Court. Thus, the doctrine of separation of powers has been given a geographical dimension.
A host of other administrative arrangements too have been proposed. Thus, zonal planning and development boards and offices of divisional revenue commissioners shall be set up. The number of districts is proposed to be increased from 13 to 25. The offices of village and ward secretariats, along with village and ward volunteers, will also be established.
Simultaneously, the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Repeal Bill, 2020, proposes to wind up this Authority. It will be replaced by the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA).
It has been argued that lopsided development of various regions of Andhra Pradesh over the years sowed the seeds for the separate Telangana movement that ultimately led to the bifurcation of the state in 2014. The new arrangement is based on the recommendations of professional agencies and expert committees.
Over 20,000 farmers (70 percent of them small and marginal) pooled 33,000 acres on the promise of various benefits, all of which may not materialise if Amaravati is replaced by three capitals. The government has, of course, promised to increase the annuity accruing to the farmers from 10 to 15 years. Monthly remuneration to the landless poor is proposed to be increased from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000. However, the farmers consider the three-capital idea a breach of trust. They and their dependants may not get the promised jobs. Social and physical infrastructure may not develop as expected. Anticipated appreciation in the price of land may also not come about.
It has also been argued that Amaravati is neither Guntur nor Vijayawada, which were front-runners for the location of the High Court and the executive capital. The infrastructure required to be created would entail an expenditure of more than Rs 1 lakh crore. Moreover, if some of the construction activity is not permitted by the National Green Tribunal and River Conservation Act, only about 5,000 acres would be available for the development of Amaravati as a capital.
There are also legitimate concerns about additional costs, as several facilities created in Amaravati may have to be re-established in Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. The project cost of the Amaravati capital was estimated at about Rs 33,000 crore, of which almost Rs 5,500 crore has been spent, according to the government. But according to the opposition, it is Rs 10,000 crore. Thus, apart from the financial viability of the new configuration, there are also concerns relating to wastage.
Logistics too are a bother. The distance between Visakhapatnam and Amaravati is 367 km; between Visakhapatnam and Kurnool it is 692 km and between Kurnool and Amaravati it is 343 km. Commuting between the three capitals for the public and public servants (officers as well as legislators) may be a strain—on their time as well as the state’s resources.
It would also mean more legwork for industry representatives to discuss and pursue their projects.
Government employees, who moved to Amaravati from Hyderabad only a couple of years ago, would have to relocate to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. Although the state government has given a thought to it, the physical and emotional ordeal cannot be avoided.
Again, in a government, the executive accounts for most of the offices. If all the government offices are to be located in the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region, how will the benefits of decentralisation percolate to other regions?
The opposition has called the move a conspiracy to “kill” the Amaravati project. It is alleged that the ruling party does not want the credit for the new capital to go to N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief architect of the venture. Political observers are of the view that this whole imbroglio is part of the ingrained caste rivalries between the coastal Kammas, represented by Naidu and his followers, and the Reddys from Rayalseema. The Kammas would have gained from Amaravati. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is seeking to rebalance the equation for the community he represents.
Decentralisation and distribution of government offices in various parts of the state is not an idea to be dismissed in limine. It is also not unique. Locating the executive and the legislature at one place and the judiciary at another place is not uncommon. In Uttar Pradesh, the executive and the legislative branches are at Lucknow, whereas the High Court of Allahabad is located in Prayagraj. Similar is the situation in Rajasthan (Jaipur and Jodhpur) as well as Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal and Jabalpur).
It is also in vogue to have assembly sessions at two venues during a year. This is so in Maharashtra and Karnataka. However, locating the permanent seat of the legislature away from the executive capital of the state has not been attempted in India. Equitable distribution of government offices across the state in order to ensure “inclusive” development is also not uncommon. For instance, in Madhya Pradesh, of which Bhopal is the executive and legislative capital, the offices of the Board of Revenue, Excise Commissioner, Transport Commissioner and Commissioner of Land Records are at Gwalior. Indore is the seat of the Public Service Commission, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and the Labour Commissioner.
Given the constraints and the political compulsions, the objective of decentralisation and inclusion can still be achieved if the secretariat and the legislature are located at one place, which, of course, should be centrally situated.
The offices of heads of department and other institutions may be distributed equitably across the state on the lines of other states, including Madhya Pradesh as mentioned above. The legislative assembly and the High Court cannot really be envisaged as engines of growth for regional development.
A business magnate, in the context of corporate governance, had recently observed that three engines can never run a company successfully.
—The writer is a former Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha, and a retired IAS officer of the AP cadre
Lead Picture: UNI