Ever since Andhra Pradesh minister for urban development and municipal administration Botsa Satyanarayana kicked up a controversy by hinting at relocation of the state capital, there have been a lot of speculative stories in the media on the fate of Amaravati.
A latest report in an English daily indicated that YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy might go in for conduct of referendum on retaining or relocating the capital city from Amaravati.
He would conduct a survey across the state as to whether the capital could be continued at Amaravati or shifted to some other place.
However, one wonders whether conduct of referendum on the capital at this stage will provide any solution.
The state has come too far ahead with the capital construction by spending thousands of crores of rupees. If the capital is shifted elsewhere, all the money would go down the drain.
ePaper: What will be the future of Amaravati?
Secondly, it is also doubtful whether the Centre would agree for the same or not, though the capital issue is a state subject. But, the Centre will definitely raise objections, as it had already granted more than Rs 1500 crore for Amaravati.
Thirdly, there is no point in taking the people’s opinion for capital, especially at this stage, as there would be varied opinions.
While north coastal Andhra people want Vizag, south coastal Andhra people want Donakonda. Rayalaseema people have already started demanding that the capital be shifted to Kurnool.
“So, there may not be a majority opinion on any place,” an analyst said.
So, in the best interest of the state, Jagan can continue the present administration in Amaravati, which has come up to some extent.
He can shift other offices like high court to Rayalaseema, educational institutions to Tirupati, industries to Donakonda and other commercial hubs to Visakhapatnam and Guntur.