Andhra government planning to increase number of districts to 25: YSRCP's Vijayasai Reddy

The YSR Congress Party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP V Vijaya Sai Reddy on Saturday has said that Andhra Pradesh government is planning to increase the number of districts from 13 to 25 in the state. The Rajya Sabha MP was participating in the birthday celebrations of YSRCP chief and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the party headquarters in Visakhapatnam.

Speaking at the event Reddy said, "The three capitals have been announced in a bid to bring development in all the districts. Chief Minister's ambition is to increase the number of the districts in the state to 25. Jagan Mohan Reddy is a man who has always served the public without any ambitions for power."

He also lauded the decision to declare Visakhapatnam as executive capital as 'historic' and said that the city will become an IT hub soon. "The state government is planning to make the port city as the executive capital for Andhra Pradesh," the leader said.

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Reddy also talked about the job opportunities, women security and the newly-enacted Disha Act. "Thousands of young women graduates are likely to get more jobs in various companies in Visakhapatnam in the near future. They need to have security round the clock. Disha Act, 2019 will also be a great boon for them to get immediate justice and police support," he added. 

Reddy's 3 state capital idea

The expert committee has recommended the Andhra Pradesh government to have decentralised development by having three capital cities for the legislature, executive and judiciary and put the available resources to the best use taking into consideration concerns on environment and for balanced regional growth.

Addressing the media, the committee members had said that Visakhapatnam will be the executive capital from where the Secretariat will function and will also have the Chief Minister's Office, while Amaravati will be the legislative capital and Kurnool will have the High Court with one Bench each at Amaravati and Visakhapatnam. The budget and winter sessions of the Assembly will be held at Amaravati and Visakhapatnam, and the Raj Bhavan and the Assembly will be located between Mangalagiri and Nagarjuna Univesity which is not flood-prone.

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What is 'AP Disha Act'?

The Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy-led government has prescribed exclusively the death penalty for rape crimes where adequate conclusive evidence is found. The fresh law, 'AP Disha Act' has been christened in the memory of the veterinary doctor, who was abducted, gang-raped, killed and burned recently on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The existing judgment period as per the Nirbhaya Act, 2013 and Criminal Amendment Act, 2018 is 4 months. The law is enacted to deal with crimes against women and for speedy justice wherever there is conclusive evidence. Under the proposed AP Disha Act, the death penalty has been prescribed for rape. 

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(with ANI inputs)