The Andhra Pradesh Government has constituted a High Power Committee to study the GN Rao Committee Report and the to be submitted report by the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) on the comprehensive development of the State and the capital city.
The committee, to be headed by State Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath, has been given three weeks time to submit its recommendations. The report by the Boston Consulting Group is expected to be submitted in the first week of January.
Two days after the State Cabinet meeting, which deferred the decision on the Capital related issues and decided to constitute a committee, a government (GO) order no. 159 was issued on Sunday constituting an expert committee.
The 16-member committee with ten ministers and six senior government officials has been appointed. The committee will study various aspects relating to the State and the capital city. It will take into account various provisions of the AP Reorganization Act and the concept of decentralised development as stated in the GO.
Apart from 10 ministers, including the State Finance Minister Buggana Rajjendranath, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Revenue and Registration Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, Minister for Municipal Administration Botsa Satyanarayana, among others, the committee will include Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, State’s Principal Advisor Ajeya Kallam, Director General Police Gautam Sawang, the State Law Secretary and the Secretary Municipal Administration and Urban development.
As opposed to the N Chandrababau Naidu Government decision to develop Amaravati on the banks of river Krishna as the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government had recently hinted that the Government would consider having a decentralised approach to administration with three capital cities. However, there has been considerable ground level concern about the proposed to move, including Executive Capital at the port city of Visakahapatnam.
While it was expected that a decision would be taken on the capital in the Friday Cabinet meeting, it was put off and the Cabinet decided to constitute a high powered committee to look into various aspects of the proposed capital including reports by the GN Rao Committee and the Boston Consulting Group report, before finalisation of the next move.
As a part of the ongoing exercise to finalise the next moves, the Government, which had constituted the GN Rao Committee headed by a retired IAS officer to study and come up with its report, has already submitted its findings and this has kicked up a row within political circles. However, the BCG report is expected to be submitted in the first week of January. The committee will study the findings of both the reports and come up with its own findings for follow up action by the State Government.