Vijayawada: Setting the ball rolling for likely reorganisation of districts, the state govt has constituted a group of ministers (GoM) to resolve the issues and concerns raised by people and public representatives regarding requests for changes in the names and boundaries of districts, mandals, and villages.The GoM comprises of ministers Anagani Satya Prasad (revenue), Nimmala Ramanaidu (water resources), BC Janardhan Reddy (roads & buildings, infrastructure and investments), V Anitha (home), Nadendla Manohar (civil supplies), Y Satya Kumar Yadav (health), and P Narayana (municipal administration), with special chief secretary (revenue) to act as its member convenor. The ministers’ panel has been tasked with assessing the practicality of proposed changes in terms of administrative efficiency and addressing disputes related to districts, revenue divisions, or mandal boundaries. They will also evaluate the distance from districts, revenue divisions, or mandal headquarters to ensure better accessibility for citizens. The GoM has also been asked to consider the preservation of historical and cultural affiliations when reviewing proposals for boundary changes or new administrative units. “To ensure that restructuring promotes equitable socio-economic development across regions, the GoM shall evaluate proposals to maintain a balance in geographic size and demographic distribution for effective governance, and also study the issues raised by citizens and public representatives while considering the proposed changes in district boundaries, headquarters, naming conventions, administrative arrangements, and resource allocations,” said chief secretary K Vijayanand, adding that the GoM will submit its recommendations to the govt for decision-making.The TDP and its allies had criticised the previous YSRCP govt’s ‘unscientific reorganisation’ of districts, as part of which each Lok Sabha constituency was constituted into one district, while an additional district was given to the tribal agency area. The total number of districts in Andhra Pradesh increased to 26 from the previous 13 at the time of bifurcation.However, the previous govt ignored demands for constitution of separate districts for Markapuram (Prakasam), Mandanapalle (Annamayya), and merger of some assembly constituencies into new districts. For instance, there was demand to retain Addanki and Kandukur constituencies in Prakasam district as they are located close to Ongole. However, the YSRCP govt stuck to Lok Sabha constituency boundaries while forming the new districts and merged Addanki into Bapatla district and Kandukur into Nellore district.CONTENTIOUS MERGERSNuzvid and Kaikalur were merged into Eluru district, ignoring public demand to retain them in KrishnaRayachoti was made district headquarters of Annamayya district, when locals wanted Madanapalle or Rajampet as district headquarters Sri Satya Sai district was constituted with Puttaparthi as headquarters, when Hindupur is the biggest town in the constituencyTDP alleged that Hindupur was deliberately ignored as it’s represented by actor Nandamuri Balakrishna YSRCP defended that Puttaparthi was made district headquarters, keeping in view the sentiments of Sri Satya Saibaba’s devotees
