Raise voice for Vizag as executive capital: Tammineni Sitaram

VISAKHAPATNAM: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has come up with the three-capital proposal as part of the decentralised development plan to avoid separatist movements in the future citing regional imbalances, asserted Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram.

Speaking at a round table meeting organised by the Non-political JAC at Amadalavalasa in Srikakulam district on Wednesday, the Speaker felt that decentralisation is the only way for the backward Uttarandhra to achieve development, which should not be politicised. 

Underlining the need for balanced development to avoid regional imbalances, he exhorted people of Uttarandhra to raise their voice for Vizag as the executive capital of the State. Instead of spending lakhs of crores on Amaravati, Visakhapatnam can be developed as top class capital with just Rs 15,000 crore as it has all the requisite infrastructure, he opined.

At the time of formation of Andhra State, Kurnool was proposed as the capital, setting up of High Court in Guntur and Andhra University in Visakhapatnam. Even the Sivaramakrishna Committee report suggested decentralisation to prevent separatist movements in the future, he recalled.

Everyone should understand the truth behind declaring Amaravati as capital by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu though there is a provision for retaining Hyderabad as the common capital for 10 years, he said. 

YSRC youth wing State general secretary Tammineni Chiranjeevi Nag opined that it is not wise to develop Amaravati alone at the cost of other regions. All the 26 districts in the district should be developed equally to avoid regional imbalances, he stressed.