Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday virtually launched 13 new districts in the state, taking the total number to 26
File photo of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. PTI
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday virtually launched 13 new districts in the state, taking the total number to 26.
The step, as per the chief minister, will improve governance and delivery of services.
Carved out of the existing 13 districts, the new districts are: Parvathipuram Manyam, Anakapalli, Alluri Seetharama Raju, Kakinada, Konaseema, Eluru, Bapatla, Nandyala, Sri Sathya Sai, Sri Balaji, Annamaya, and NTR.
Speaking on the occasion, he said people have accepted and appreciated the decentralised form of government as the schemes are directly delivered to their doorstep, and that the same is being extended to the districts now.
Let’s find out why the Andhra Pradesh government has created 13 more districts and how it may help the administration:
Why have they created 13 more districts?
Ahead of the 2019 Assembly elections, Reddy had promised to create new parliamentary constituencies if his party, the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), came to power.
Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha constituencies.
With the “reorganisation of districts”, each of the districts is now the same as the parliamentary constituencies except Araku, which has been split into two districts as the CM reportedly wants a higher focus on the backward tribal areas.
He has maintained for long that the state should have more, smaller districts.
Earlier this year, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan said that the new districts may be created by the Telugu New Year in the first week of April.
According to the Indian Express, the government had issued a draft notification under The Andhra Pradesh Districts (Formation) Act, 1974, saying boundaries of existing districts would be redrawn to double the number of districts or revenue divisions to 26.
CM Reddy on Monday said that decentralisation and smaller administrative units will help with better administration, transparency and more effective delivery of welfare.
The draft notification issued in January had said the step was being taken in the interest of better administration and development.
“We have seen the development through decentralised administration in the form of village and ward secretariats. We are now decentralising at the district level as well. From now on, AP is a state with 26 districts. We have at least one parliamentary constituency per district,” Reddy said.
According to the report, as many as 38.15 lakh people live in each of the existing 13 districts of the state on average.
With the creation of the new districts, there are about 19.07 lakh people in each district, the Chief Minister said.
Even a small state like Arunachal Pradesh has 25 districts for better administration, Reddy said.
He said that the role of collectors has also widened to heading the delivery mechanism of welfare schemes and outreach to people.
“The focus of all 26 district collectors should now be on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The reforms are aimed at bringing the administration closer to the people,” he said.
With inputs from agencies
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