Visakhapatnam: Three-capital Bill gets mixed response from people

Visakhapatnam: With the High Power Committee favouring the three-capital concept as suggested earlier by the G N Rao Committee followed by the Boston Consultancy Group, the move for the decentralised administration has gained momentum with the YSRC government tabling a Bill to shift parts of capital machinery to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool from Amaravati in the Assembly on Monday.

Welcoming the balanced development through making the port city as the executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital and Amaravati as legislative capital of the state, people from various sections shared their views with The Hans India.

Terming the Bill as historic, Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) Chairman Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao said, "Development is going to see a new dimension not just in Vizag but the entire stretch of north Andhra which remained mired in backwardness for several decades now. The State government's introduction of decentralised administration bill will see growth in various sectors, including health, education, industry and tourism."

Many entrepreneurs feel that the move to make Vizag as an executive capital is sure to set a new road map for potential investors. "For Vizag to become executive capital, it needs very minimum investment. However, it paves way to bring in new investors as many look forward to investing in the region like never before. This apart, with the change in the landscape, the North Andhra region is sure to witness development along with the neigbouring regions," opines D S Varma, vice-president of Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers Association.

Sharing similar views, former MLA of Gajuwaka Chintalapudi Vekatramaiah said that many have proposed making Visakha as capital in the past. "However, the TDP government was bent upon developing only Amaravati even though it is involved with huge cost of construction. On the other hand, Visakhapatnam has the necessary infrastructure to be developed as executive capital. The move is sure to increase the growth prospects of not just the district but also East Godavari," he told The Hans India.

Since Amaravati is located geographically in the heart of the state, CEO of Vizag Profiles Private Limited V V Krishna Rao says administration-wise it is more convenient to have a single capital city. "Also, it leaves a mark for future generations if we have one well-developed capital city. Keeping the financial constraints of the state in view, it is better to set up a capital in a phased manner instead of shifting its primary functions to three different regions," he stated.

While many people embraced the Bill tabled by the YSRC government on the capital shift, some people feel it's against their choice and the secured environment of Visakhapatnam will no longer remain the same. With the city growing bigger, 'security' and cost of living is what many finds will be a serious cause for concern.