GoM meet to focus on Seemandhra capital

Capital for seemandhra?

The Group of Ministers (GoM), during its meeting with Union ministers from Seemandhra, slated for Monday in Delhi, is likely to focus on identifying the place for the capital of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation.

The ministerial panel appears to be putting in all efforts to identify the Seemandhra capital in order to announce a huge financial package for its development while taking forward the process of bifurcation of the state so as to dismiss the criticism that the Centre is not doing equal justice to both regions.

The members of the GoM have already elicited the views of various parties on the same when it interacted with the representatives of these parties in Delhi recently.

Similarly, the GoM is likely to elicit the opinions of the Union ministers from Seemandhra on the issue during its meeting with them on Monday. 

According to sources, instead of naming one particular place, the GoM is likely to suggest two to three places in its soon-to-be submitted report to the Centre, which will become the basis for the preparation of the T-bill.

After suggesting the names of potential places for locating the capital, the GoM might advise the Centre to ask the leaders of Seemandhra to zero in on one of these suggested places by discussing among themselves, sources said.

In fact, according to CPI state secretary K Narayana, the GoM sought his suggestions on the capital issue during his meeting with it.

The CPI leader reportedly told the panel that it was ideal to set up the capital between Vijayawada and Ongole, which are about equidistant from North Andhra and Rayalaseema.

Meanwhile, addressing mediapersons in West Godavari district on Sunday, Union minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao said if division was certain then Bhadrachalam division would remain with residuary state of AP. He also made it clear that they would try to extract a huge financial package

source: The New Indian Express