E-Paper
Andhra governor avoids 3-capital plan in assembly address
During the budget sessions for 2020-21 and 2021-22 and also during the Republic Day speeches in the last two years, the governor categorically referred to the three capitals plan.
Addressing a joint session of the state legislative assembly and legislative council on the first day of the budget session on Monday, governor Biswabhushan Harichandan avoided direct mention of state government’s proposal to form three capital cities for Andhra Pradesh, in place of present Amaravati, but said it was committed to the decentralised governance.
“For the last three years, my government has been making relentless efforts to ensure a decentralised and inclusive governance,” Harichandan said.The governor’s statement was an indirect reference to the state legislation — Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, — which was repealed by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in November 2021.
This is for the first time that Harichandan has not made a direct reference to the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s policy for creating three capitals. During the budget sessions for 2020-21 and 2021-22 and also during the Republic Day speeches in the last two years, the governor categorically referred to the three capitals plan.
He said the restructuring of the existing districts was also being done in coherence with the objective of a decentralised and good governance. “My government has decided to restructure the existing 13 districts and form 13 new districts, which would start functioning from April 2, coinciding with the Ugadi festival,” he said.
The governor also reaffirmed the state’s commitment toward the welfare of employees (who threatened to go on indefinite strike in January and dropped the plan after talks with the state government).
Describing the employees as pillars of the administration, Harichandan said the government had implemented the 11th pay revision commission (PRC) recommendation by giving them a 23% hike in fitment (basic salary), besides other benefits like release of five dearness allowance instalments at one go and enhancement of their retirement age from 60 to 62 years.
He explained how the state had suffered due to the bifurcation stress, policy paralysis between 2014 and 2019 and subsequent two years of Covid-19. Yet, the state had achieved a growth of 0.22% in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2020-21. The per capita income went up by 15.87% to ₹ 2.04 lakh per annum.The governor also listed out several welfare programmes implemented by the state government for the upliftment of vulnerable sections of the society.
TDP stages walkout
Amid the governor’s address, members of the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party staged a walkout, after creating ruckus in the House.
Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu stayed away from the assembly. He had taken a vow in the last session held in November that he won’t step into the assembly again for the rest of the term of the present government, in protest against the alleged humiliating comments made by YSR Congress members against him and his wife.
The TDP members raised slogans “governor, go back,” in protest against his inability to protect the Constitutional institutions, which they alleged, were being misused by the YSRCP government.
Amid the continued sloganeering, the governor’s speech could not be heard. Some of them rushed to the podium and threw away the pieces of the speech copy.Later, they walked out the House and squatted in the lobbies, but were evicted by the assembly marshals.
Senior YSRC leader and state minister for agriculture K Kanna Babu said never in the past had any Opposition behaved so badly during the governor’s address. “The TDP members should set aside politics and respect the institutions and traditions of the august House,” he said.
Speaking to reporters later, TDP deputy floor leader K Atchannaidu said his party respected the institution of the governor but, when serious constitutional violations took place in the state, the governor did nothing to prevent them. He alleged that the governor remained silent when the ruling YSRCP was attacking the constitutional institutions like state election commission and judiciary, besides on other issues like Amaravati capital and misuse of central funds.
BLURB This is for the first time that Harichandan has not made a direct reference to the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s policy for creating three capitals
