A crucial Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, is underway to discuss 22 important policy decisions.
Among the key decisions, the Cabinet will discuss the formation of new districts in Andhra Pradesh. The government is mulling to carve out 12 new districts taking the total number of districts in the state to 25 although the move was dubbed as a flawed policy by the Opposition parties.
The move came under sharp criticism for not taking into confidence the opinion of all stakeholders in creation of new districts. According to sources, one of the new districts to be carved out from Visakhapatnam could be named after freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju.
Earlier, Hindupur TDP MLA and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna had written to Jagan Mohan Reddy with an appeal to declare Hindupur as a separate district.
The Cabinet will also discuss shifting of Andhra Pradesh capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam although the matter is sub-judice pending the High Court verdict.
On June 15, addressing the Assembly through video-conference from Raj Bhavan, Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan had indicated that three-capitals in Andhra Pradesh is inevitable.
Under the three-capital proposal, Amaravati would be the Legislative capital, Visakhapatnam the Executive capital and Kurnool the Judicial capital, the Governor had stated.
Further, the Cabinet will take up the distribution of house site pattas to the poor on August 15. The Andhra Pradesh government had planned to distribute around 30 lakh house site pattas on July 18, but the move hit a legal roadblock after the Opposition parties challenged it in the Supreme Court.
Another significant decision is implementation of solar power projects with a capacity of 10,000 MW in Andhra Pradesh in order to meet the agricultural consumption from renewable sources. The YSRC government had promised 9-hour uninterrupted power supply to the farm sector.
The Cabinet has also discussed the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for mobilising about Rs 40,000 crore for executing 27 irrigation schemes as part of Rayalaseema Drought Mitigation Project.
