Amaravati is apt for AP capital

It is a relief for some to hear that Amaravati will continue to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh. The Chief Minister seemed to have conveyed to the officials the same after a review meeting on Thursday.

Capital city like Special Category Status is an emotional issue for everyone. One would love to have a capital of his own for various reasons. One would also have a capital city for extraneous reasons.

Some cities have been around only for a while. New cities are coming up everywhere, no doubt. But mostly this is a conversion of a rural setting into a rurban which then goes on to flourish into an urban centre. Some cities may be old, very old actually. In the days of yore, cities came up due to agriculture.

As a nomadic hunting population settled around water sources, there emerged slowly cities. Other cities sprang up because the rulers wanted their seat of power to be there. Cities like Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhubaneswar, New Raipur etc came up because of administrative reasons.

The case of Amaravati is different. It became necessary because of bifurcation of the undivided Andhra Pradesh. The location was contested by many, but in the end, no one grudged it as it would merge Vijayawada and Guntur to become a major attraction.

Only mistake of Chandrababu Naidu was in not building it fast. It should have been among the top priorities. But he had other plans. He sought a dream city. Now dream cities take time to evolve.

But no dream city will be the same after a few years. Because one man's dream need not necessarily be palatable to the other. In the yore, when enemies invaded kingdoms, they ravaged and plundered cities and its populace. That was past.

In case of Amaravati, people wonder whether the rulers would commit the same mistake as the predecessors did in the past. Does Amaravati have to be the 'one and only' city? Should one keep all the eggs in one basket? Is it wiser? But, when it was rumoured that Amaravati would not be the designated spot, there was disappointment all around.

Someone in the past preferred shifting the capital to Daulatabad from Delhi. People thought 'oh, is that the case here too". A capital is meant to provide judicial, administrative and political rule. All departments need not be grouped together.

There could be an even development by spreading the administration. In these days of online governance, it should not affect the administration. Well, if the considerations are other than governance, one could do what one wants to in the name of a capital city.

Again, the reasons can vary by depending on the purpose. Some rulers may incorporate to control their own destiny. A city is needed to provide benefits to people, not to a few individuals. If this is the case, one could effect changes required easily.

Wield power judiciously, without suffering people. Amaravati can be the capital. Though it need not be a megapolis from the inception. It could be a functional capital too. People don't care about individual politicians.