Andhra Pradesh will gain nothing from the three capitals proposal

Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath made some interesting comments on the controversial three capitals issue in Bengaluru last week. He was speaking at a road show in India's IT capital to attract investors for the Global Investors Summit, scheduled to be organised by the State government in Visakhapatnam in the first week of next month.

Though his comments kicked up a major political row, they are not far from the truth. According to him, there is a misplaced interpretation about the issue as the administration will function only from Visakhapatnam. The other two cities - Amaravati and Kurnool- would not be capitals per se. He went on to explain that Kurnool would have the Principal Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court and nothing beyond that.

But the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, which was passed by the AP Assembly in January 2020, stated Visakhapatnam as the executive capital and Amaravati as the legislative capital, with Kurnool being the judicial capital.

Of course, the Act was withdrawn in November 2021 after it was challenged in the AP High Court, which ordered a status quo. Thereafter, the State government filed a special leave petition against the High Court order. The issue is currently before the apex court.

It is said that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy came up the concept of three capitals with an aim to decentralise the administration. But in Andhra Pradesh, further decentralisation of administration is not required as the government machinery is in place till the village level. This applies to India as a whole, as well.

This raises the question of the need to go about such decentralisation? What the State needs is decentralisation of development and not of administration. On that count, the three capitals plan is not a good idea as it will slow down the administrative process.

I have written a series of articles on the issue immediately after the Reddy government announced its decision. That was just before the Covid pandemic knocked at our doors.

In one of the articles, I mentioned that Visakhapatnam would eventually be the main capital city, irrespective of whether Amaravati and Kurnool would be legislative and judicial capitals or not. That's but natural as Visakhapatnam is the place from where the administration is carried out and the Chief Minister operates. Buggana's comments are more or less on the same lines. It goes without saying that that Visakhapatnam makes for a worthy choice as the capital city.

In hindsight, if Telugu Desam Party (TDP) wins the 2024 elections, which seems remote, as things stand, and forms the next government, it is more likely that Amaravati will be developed as the Greenfield capital, as envisioned by Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

Otherwise, Visakhapatnam will be the capital city and it will remain so forever. Amaravati and Kurnool will remain legislative and judicial capitals for namesake. A legislative capital status is unlikely to fuel development in Amaravati. So is the case with Kurnool.

But given the large land bank (nearly 33,000 acres acquired by the previous regime to develop Greenfield capital city) at the government's disposal in Amaravati, the State government could develop a massive industrial hub there, thus fueling the region’s growth. Kurnool will be ideal place to develop the IT sector with a long-term vision as it is in close proximity to Hyderabad and is a more stable place when it comes to climate.

When Ravindra Sannareddy, a visionary entrepreneur, could develop Sri City, a global industrial hub, in the backward Rayalaseema area, why can't Andhra Pradesh led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, an entrepreneur himself, replicate similar success stories elsewhere in the State? To achieve this, he should put together an efficient and effective team of IAS officers and visionary political leaders.

When we organised the Bizz Buzz Business Conclave (BBBC) in Visakhapatnam in April 2022, I had a very bad experience with the state officialdom. A senior IAS officer kept me waiting for hours together on several occasions despite giving appointments. Another senior officer in the Chief Minister's Office did not even respond despite several phone calls and messages on WhatsApp. Some ministers were clueless. That came as a big shock to me. Undeterred, I braved all odds and put together the first such an initiative in south of Vindhyas after the debilitating Covid. Not ironically, the main beneficiary of that conclave was Andhra Pradesh and its government. Alas, we did not receive any encouragement from the officials except from M Nanda Kishore Reddy, the then Managing Director of Andhra Pradesh Technology Services (APTS) and his active team. Despite that, I am proud to say that we did a commendable job and brought over 50 successful entrepreneurs and thought-leaders from Mumbai, Bengaluru and several other cities as speakers to Visakhapatnam, a tier-2 city. Andhra Pradesh and Visakhapatnam were in the national news during the conclave and received good mileage.

The problem with Andhra Pradesh, I observed, was that most officials there were not interested in the development of the State and were not keen on showcasing the State's potential. I don't know their present mindset, though. I did not go there after that not-so pleasant experience.

So, it came as a surprise to me when the Andhra Pradesh government announced the Global Investors Summit, the first such initiative by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. It is to be seen how the summit will be organised and whether it will benefit them in any way. It's not that Andhra Pradesh doesn't have the potential to attract investors. But that was not on the top of the government's agenda as it is more focused on welfare schemes. This narrative visibly changed after our hugely successful BBBC. It's a good sign. For, the current dispensation badly needs rapid revenue growth if it has to continue its path-breaking welfare schemes. That can only happen if private investments pour into the residual State at a faster pace.

It's time the Andhra Pradesh government channels all its energies in that direction. Otherwise, the State will have to confront financial challenges in the coming years. All said and done, money, its generation and its effective management remain paramount for any government. So it is for Andhra Pradesh.