Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao on Sunday faulted the centralisation of development and location of all vital institutions in one area, contravening the recommendations of the Shribagh Pact and the Sivaramakrishnan Committee.
Speaking as chief guest in a seminar on ‘Rayalaseema development – challenges,’ organised by the Jana Vignana Vedika here, Mr. Krishna Rao emphasised the need for establishing the High Court in Rayalaseema as Amaravati was made the capital.
Problems could arise if all the regions were not developed on par, he said. The BJP had more focus on the development of Rayalaseema, he added.
The State government urged the Centre to declassify 10,000 acres of forest land for the capital in lieu of the forest land in Kadapa and Anantapur districts, the former Chief Secretary decried. He sought development of Hyderabad-Bengaluru industrial corridor and stabilisation of tanks, as all the mandals in Anantapur districts were drought-affected for nearly 10 years in the last two decades.
He described former Chief Ministers N.T. Rama Rao and Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy as “Apara Bhageeratha.”
He suggested water productivity crops and change in the cropping pattern. The special package funds must be equitably spent in all the regions for development, he said.
‘Irrational step’
Former Director-General of Police C. Anjaneya Reddy asserted that it was irrational to take over fertile lands for constructing the capital. Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh benefited Hyderabad, Krishna and Guntur districts, but the parched Rayalaseema region was left in the lurch, he remarked. Donakonda in Prakasam district was ideal for locating the capital and not Amaravati, he asserted.
The State government did not pay any attention to decentralisation in the last three years, JVV State president V. Lakshmana Reddy, who presided, said.