Andhra Pradesh government 'shifts' to Vijayawada for collectors' conference

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government virtually moved to Vijayawada from Hyderabad on Thursday, as chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu held the first collectors' conference there, two months after Naidu government assumed charge of the office.

The Chief minister, along with his cabinet colleagues, chief secretaries, heads of various departments, and 13 district collectors were in Vijayawada for the day-long conference.

Notably, the AP blocks in the Secretariat here wore a deserted look and a holiday mood prevailed throughout the day.

According to an order issued by the General Administration department on August 5, the cash-starved state government spent Rs 21.70 lakh towards the conference expenses, though facilities were available in Hyderabad for holding the meeting.

"It would have been most convenient to conduct the conference in Hyderabad as government infrastructure is readily available. Only the 13 Collectors would have been required to travel and not over 100 IAS officers and tens of heads of departments. It would also have saved a lot of expenditure," a top bureaucrat said.

By choosing Vijayawada as the collectors' conference venue, it is felt that the chief minister fuelled speculation further that the city may eventually become the new state capital.

Meanwhile, Naidu in the meeting exhorted all district collectors in the state to dedicate themselves to create a 'Swarnandhra' by uplifting the needy and the downtrodden through welfare initiatives.