3-Capital Issue (08/02/2020)

Members attended:
1. Bharath
2. Charan
3. Mounika
4. Jayanth
5. Sumanth
Issue:
● YSRCP government has put up a bill for shifting of capital from Amaravati to 3 places
○ Kurnool City (Judicial)
○ Vizag ooru (Executive)
○ Amaravati palle (Legislative)
● Bill
○ Andhra Pradesh Decentralization and Inclusive Development of All Regions-2020
○ Bill also proposes dividing the state into zones and opt for zonal planning
● The aim of discussion is to understand, analyze and discuss the pros and cons of this
move by the government
Points discussed:
1. History and background:
a. First reference of Decentralization was made in Sri Bagh Pact
i. Sri Bagh pact intro
1. Andhra people were seen as inferior citizens in the Madras state
and they wanted to have a separate state for themselves
2. Separate Andhra movement started out from mid 1910s
3. It gained pace by mid 1930s
4. Rayalaseema region was (and is) backward in comparison to the
highly fertile regions of Coastal Andhra and were seen on a lower
pedestal by Coastal Andhra leaders
5. Sri Bagh pact (Nov 1937) is a pact between Andhra and
Rayalaseema people for gaining the support of Rayalaseema
leaders in the struggle for a separate state
ii. Decentralization
1. Two universities: Anantapur; Vizag
2. Location of University, Executive HQ and HC shall be in different
regions
a. University was already at Vizag
b. So KURNOOL CITY was made the capital
b. Sri Krishna commission also deliberated upon the advantages of Vizag
i. It gave 3 options for capital of erstwhile Andhra
1. Greenfield (newly built) capital city
 2. Expanding existing cities
3. Distributed development
c. GN Rao expert panel also recommended for decentralization
d. Boston Consulting Group also recommended the plan
i. The report divided the 13 districts into 6 regions based on natural
resources, growth potential etc.
1. We need to get hold of this report
e. Other examples for multiple capitals
i. South Africa Model
1. Pretoria (Vizag)
2. Bloemfontein (Kurnool)
3. Capetown (Amaravati)
ii. Other countries
1. Bolivia; Czech Republic; Malaysia etc.
iii. Indian states like Kerala; J&K etc.
2. 3-Capitals pros and cons
a. Pros
i. Balance growth of all regions
1. Hyderabad is an example for too much concentration of
development in a single area
ii. Zonal planning as provided in the bill ensures more power and efficient
resource management
iii. Most backward areas of the state i.e. N.Coastal Andhra and
Rayalaseema get significantly benefited
iv. Huge costs for the greenfield capital city
1. 40 years and 1 lakh crore investment
a. 8-10k crores of debt services to be paid by the state
2. We need to understand the human costs of this diversion of funds
a. It pushes many middle class people into BPL and it takes
many generations for them to again reach middle class
b. It is worse for poor people in general
v. BCG report pointed out the low success ratio for economic development
when a new capital city is being built
vi. Environmental concerns
1. Amaravati lies in close proximity Krishna River Front which poses
undue developmental pressure
2. Also the city is prone to inundation and flooding
vii. Infra base in Vizag
1. Tourism infra
2. Industries: Oil; Ship building; Steel plant
3. Port; Airport etc.
4. Good social infra base too
viii. Ability to continue governance during emergencies
 1. Distributed capital structure gives us opportunity to shift to a
different center when one of them is under stress
ix. Huge government land exists in Vizag
1. 10000 acres of government land available
2. New offices need only 3k acres
b. Cons
i. Regional disputes possibility
1. When a government start giving prominence to identities (here
region) by doling out specific benefits to them, they tend to
embolden the identities
2. So if a government is unable to match the benefits of those
identities, conflicts may ensue
ii. Vizag’s location being too far for Rayalaseema region
1. Members pointed out that the advancements made in the field of
connectivity and technology, location may not play a prominent
role in deciding a capital
iii. Land pooling farmers got cheated by the government
1. Farmers from 29 villages donated 33k acres
iv. Vizag is cyclone prone
1. Hudhud cyclone devastation 2014
v. Coordination issues may occur
1. 3 organs of the government must work together
2. Due to their physical location being far away, it may hinder
productivity
vi. Skepticism over government promises
1. How can people be made sure that government may not back
away from promises again?
2. Trust deficit may creep on institutions for people
vii. Dangerous precedent
1. If the new government starts reversing all the decisions of
previous government, progress halts and state will be moving
back and forth in the same position
viii. Unplanned city: Vizag
1. May lead to traffic congestion
2. Huge population migration and corresponding stress on the trunk
infra
3. Constrained land: Being a coastal city and surrounded by hills on
one side
ix. General maintenance costs will multiply
1. To maintain security and other maintenance aspects for 3 capitals,
it will be thrice the costs
3. Alternatives
a. Decentralize powers and governance; not Government
 i. Strengthen local bodies
1. Give them more powers, money and responsibilities
4. Other Remarks
a. We need to study the issue more carefully by devoting more time and effort
i. None of us read the bill, for example