With the Union Government giving nod to the State of Telangana and making Hyderabad the capital of Telangana after a maximum period of 10 years (when it will serve as joint capital), all eyes are now focused on the key question of where the new capital of residuary State of Andhra Pradesh will be located.
As it will have a far reaching impact on the economic and political significance of a region, different parts of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions were vying with each other to become the seat of power.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who announced the Union Cabinet’s decision to go ahead with the formation of Telangana State, said that an expert committee will be constituted to decide the location of the new capital. “We will identify the location within 45 days of the State reorganisation Bill coming in to effect,” he said.
The Centre has also promised financial assistance for building the necessary infrastructure and othe facilities for the new capital. They include buildings for the State Assembly, Raj Bhavan, High Court and Secretariat. The Bill for such a massive and ambitious project can lead in to several billion dollars.
A powerful lobby, including some Central Ministers was at work to make the belt between Vijaywada and Guntur the new capital. One Minister wants the port city of Visakhapatanam to become the next capital while the other Central Minister was advocating the cause of Kurnool as the capital. He points out that Kurnool was the capital of Andhra State till the region was merged with Telangana to form Andhra Pradesh in 1965. leaders and a Minister form southern Coastal Andhra were demanding that the new capital should come up between Ongole in Prakasham district and Kavali in Nellore district.
But experts say that the experts’ committee was likely to zero in on an area which was strategically located between Andhra and Rayalaseema region. It means that it could be somewhere near the borders of Kurnool, Prakasham and Guntur districts.
Apart from various other factors, the experts will also have to keep the environmental angle and availability of land to the extent of several hundred square kms at a safe distance from the coast as cyclones keep hitting this belt frequently. Acquisition of such a large extent of land may also face resistance from the farmers as the land was very fertile and expensive.