Vishakhapatnam: The round-table meeting participants on Sunday decided to launch a movement in support of making Vishakhapatnam as the Executive Capital of Andhra Pradesh. Advocates, intellectuals, academicians, civic society members and politicians took part in the discussion on Sunday and discussed on the State Government’s decentralization policy.

The participants in the round-table expressed that Visakhapatnam, being an ideal location, should be developed as the Executive Capital.  Former vice-chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University, Balamohan Das, asserted that Vizag should be the executive capital as it has road, rail, air and port connectivity, the prerequisites to emerge as a global city. He demanded that High Court benches should be set up at Visakhapatnam and Guntur.

The Sivaramakrishna Committee, constituted by the Centre, did not favour Amaravati as the State capital. It was the committee headed by the then municipal administration minister P Narayana which suggested Amaravati as capital, he added. President of Uttarandhra Rakshana Vedika, SS Shiva Sankar, said many people from North Andhra have been migrating to other places in search of employment.

Making Vizag the executive capital will ensure development of the region he said and opined that more awareness meetings on decentralization should be organized in the region.

State Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said that City of Destiny is one of the top five fastest developing cities in the country. He made it clear that all the 26 districts were equal for the State Government. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy proposed the three-capital plan to ensure a balanced development of all regions in the State, he said.

Botcha maintained that they were not opposed to Amaravati and will develop it along with other regions in the State. We have to spend a huge sum of money for constructing a capital at Amaravati when compared to other places in the State. The expense to develop Amaravati as the capital would be `1.09 lakh crore, he explained.

He asserted that the State government is committed to comply with the agreement made with the Amaravati farmers. On the ongoing Maha Padayatra, Botcha found fault with the Amaravati farmers for undertaking a State-wide yatra for the cause of people from 29 villages.

Padayatra was taken out with a political agenda, said Minister for IT and Industries Gudivada Amarnath. He appealed to the Amaravati farmers to conclude their yatra, keeping in mind the interests of all 26 districts in the State. North Andhra will witness rapid development if Visakhapatnam is made the executive capital, he added.

Visakhapatnam was a safe city for people, said Centurion University vice-chancellor GSN Raju. Executive Capital should be set up in Vizag. Former Dr BR Ambedkar Open University vice-chancellor Lajpatarai presided.