Krishna, Guntur dist YSRCP MLAs support capital shifting

Amaravati: YSRCP MLAs from Krishna and Guntur districts declared their unanimous support to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's proposal to shift capital from Amaravati and decentralisation of capitals into three.

Addressing at a press conference after attending a meeting at the party office at Tadepalli here on Thursday, the MLAs of the two districts said that they support the state government in implementing the GN Rao Committee's suggestions.

Sattenapalli MLA Ambati Rambabu said former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu spent more than Rs 5,000 crore on temporary capital at Amaravati and more than Rs 1.10 lakh crore was needed for completion of capital. The state government is not in a position to spend that much amount, he said. Rambabu said they had discussed GN Rao committee's recommendations in the meeting.

"We have decided to implement the GN Rao committee report. We have resolved to develop all the regions equally. Less spending and more development through decentralised capitals is the idea of Jagan. We will spend more money on irrigation and other projects, rather on Amaravati," he said.

He said they would also consider the grievances of investors in Amaravati. For them, they would take some decisions in the Cabinet. They had also discussed ways to develop Amaravati without spending more money, he said.

The MLAs said they would set up capitals at the developed cities, instead of spending more money on Amaravati. Capital is nothing but establishing HC, Secretariat and Assembly. But not the constructing a big city, explained Rambabu.

"We will develop the existing lands and region in other manner, like industrial region or IT hub or education hub or take up some other developmental activity," he sad. Vemuru MLA Meruga Nagarjuna said that the Chandrababu Naidu government incurred thousands of crore debt on capital itself, but failed to develop the city as promised.

But, now, the present Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had been striving for the welfare and development of the entire state. The state government had been suffering from the financial problems and not in a position to invest thousands of thousands of crore, he said.

Vijayawada Central legislator Malladi Vishnu said decentralisation of capitals would not hamper the development of Krishna and Guntur districts. "If Jagan is egoist or selfish, then he would have shifted the capital to Donakonda or Pulivendula, but he is not doing it," he reasoned.