Minister for Industries, Skill Development and Information Technology G. Amarnath has dropped broad hints that a Bill on three capitals will be tabled in the Assembly soon and that the State government would start functioning from Visakhapatnam from the coming academic year. The government sources, however, are tightlipped about the exact time of the introduction of the Bill during the monsoon session.
The Minister’s comments a day after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy batted in the Assembly for developing Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, during a short discussion on ‘decentralisation’, with just 10% of the estimated cost of developing basic infrastructure in Amaravati and that the State government would not be able to even complete basic infrastructure with Rs.30,000-Rs.40,000 crore.
The buzz around the shifting of capital to Visakhapatnam gained momentum during the monsoon session. During a short discussion, many YSRCP MLAs slammed the TDP government’s model of developing Amaravati as the sole capital without considering the sentiments and aspirations of the people of other regions.
Mr. Amarnath and other Ministers were frequently speaking about the decision to shift the administration to Visakhapatnam and lambasting the TDP for supporting the Maha Padayatra.
