New Delhi: Contrary to expectations, an expert committee set up by the Home Ministry has not recommended name of any particular place for establishment of the capital of residuary Andhra Pradesh but suggested that the state government should function simultaneously from three different places.
The committee, headed by former Union Urban Development Secretary KM Sivaramakrishnan recommended that the capital and other institutions "be distributed" in three different regions of the state - Vishakhapattanam in Uttarandhra, Rayalaseema Arc comprising Kurnool, Anantapur, Tirupathi, Kadapa and Chittoor; and "Kalahasti - Nadikudi spine".
According to the report, which was submitted to the Home Ministry two days ago and made public on Sunday night, said there will be no single capital for Andhra Pradesh.
"Communication between different government offices is no longer an issue of physical proximity. We recognise that our approach of distributed development is not convention and may be regarded as inconvenient and impractical by many officials.
But if distribution of development and governmental functions is desired in Andhra, we feel this approach should be followed. The Committee does not consider a single large capital city as a feasible option available to Andhra Pradesh as of now," the report said.
The Committee said the existing concentration in Hyderabad of the legislature, the courts and the executive comprising numerous ministries, departments, commissionerates and directorates has happened over several years.
This concentration has itself been a major bone of contention in the process of bifurcation.
The 188-page report noted that in the contemporary state where the nature of governmental functions are both highly varied and innovative, there is no particular merit in seeking to locate all government offices in one single place.
Compared to the situation which existed in the country soon after independence when entirely new cities like Chandigarh with about 115 sq km Gandhi Nagar with 177 sq km and Bhubaneswar with 419 sq km (including the existing city) could be conceived and built, the Committee said such large scale acquisition of land and development is much more difficult now.
"It appears most unlikely that in Andhra Pradesh vast areas of government land on this scale will be available. On the other hand the existing and proposed rail and road connectivity between different cities of Andhra Pradesh, which can be significantly improved and expanded, renders the search for a single super city location unnecessary," the report says.
It took note that there has been much publicity in recent weeks that a capital city may come up between Guntur and Vijaywada.
"This is mainly due to the common perception that this area is geographically central as between the Uttarandhra coast and Rayalaseema and is already well connected.
"This geographical connectivity, centrality and proximity are attractive concepts but need not be the only one for guiding development. In other states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra or West Bengal this geographical centrality does not exist," the report said.
The Committee said any attempt towards concentration of the state government offices within the urban area of Vijayawada - Guntur will have to consider other consequences such as the strain on infrastructure and possible unplanned expansion of urban areas.
