VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in all likelihood, to administer the state from Visakhapatnam, starting from Vijayadasami (Dasara).
He informed that he told the cabinet members during an informal meeting with them after the Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet meeting held under his chairmanship on Wednesday. This is in tune with plans for making Visakhapatnam the executive capital of the state. Ministers were asked to be prepared to move to the port city.
Besides, pointing out the proposed one nation one election policy, the Chief Minister is learned to have asked his cabinet colleagues to be prepared for election anytime.
During the cabinet briefing, minister for Information and Public Relations Ch Venu Gopala Krishna neither confirmed nor denied the CM's announcement to shift his base to Visakhapatnam in October.
According to sources, CMO officials and other key staff necessary for the administration on a day-to-day basis would be shifted to the port city along with the Chief Minister.
A committee will be constituted to select the buildings to house the CMO and various other departments in the secretariat and as per the recommendations of the committee, shifting will be done
The sources, the residences, and the camp office of the Chief Minister have been identified and kept ready. The complete relocation of the secretariat might be around December, sources added. It should be noted here that the Supreme Court will hear the government’s plea challenging the High Court order in the three-capital case only in December.
In fact, the Chief Minister announced his intentions to shift his base from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam in March this year and reiterated the same on a couple of occasions later. Following his announcement, several of his cabinet colleagues had been announcing often that the State administration would be from Visakhapatnam anytime.