Human Rights Forum welcomes proposal to shift Andhra Pradesh capital from Amaravati
VISAKHAPATNAM: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) on Tuesday welcomed the move to decentralise administration in the State.
Though the government’s proposal to shift the capital outside Amaravati has merit, social and environmental costs of a mammoth capital city like the one embarked on by the former TDP government at Amaravati were too high, HRF representatives of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana VS Krishna and Chandrasekhar said.
"We stated this at the time of the release of the Sivaramakrishnan report in 2014 and we reiterate the same now. The city was to be constructed on an abundantly fertile river floodplain, on wetlands and in an area that is a seismic zone. The entire exercise by the former TDP government to construct a mega capital was mired in multiple illegalities and dubious transactions. It was a unilateral decision without taking public into confidence," they said.
The HRF representatives said the new capital must not be concentrated only in a few urban clusters. Focus should also be laid to the needs of backward and underdeveloped regions. Decentralisation, transparency and accountability should be the cardinal principles.
However, while dealing with agitations, the ruling government is treading the path of its predecessor. They objected to the promulgation of Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code and prohibitory orders under Section 30 of the Police Act. They said use of police force on Amaravati farmers was unwarranted. The State government must initiate a dialogue with the agitators instead of taking action against them.
The exercise of reverting the land back to landowners is a cumbersome process and in some cases, next to impossible. However, the government should find an amicable solution to the issue. The concerns of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers and Dalits must be accorded priority, they said.
This is an historic opportunity to right many wrongs committed in the past. An important exercise like this entails widespread consultation with the people.
There has also not been any transparency. For instance, several reports, including that of the Boston Consulting Group, are not available in public domain, they said. A centralised secretariat at Visakhapatnam, or for that matter anywhere else, is undesirable. Rather, there must be several mini-secretariats dispersed across the State, they said. There will not be constraints of governance given the availability of existing technology, if properly utilised.
They said Andhra Pradesh High Court should come up in Rayalaseema; ideally at a central location. Two HC benches—one in Vizag and the other in Vijayawada-Guntur region, should be constituted, they said.