VIJAYAWADA: The debate surrounding the legal status of Amaravati may have been temporarily resolved with amendments to the AP State Reorganisation Act, but the city still lacks a civic body. The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) oversees various urban centers and villages, yet no unified urban governance exists to encompass all regions.
The Amaravati capital spans 217 sq km across Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla, NTR, Krishna, and Eluru districts, including municipal corporations in Guntur, Vijayawada, and Tadepalli-Mangalagiri, along with municipalities such as Nandigama, Jaggaiahpet, Kondapalli, Tenali, Ponnur, Sattenapalle, Gudivada, Vuyyuru, and Tadigadapa. While some of these centers are separated by distance, others are adjacent and could form a single urban local body akin to GHMC and GVMC.
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) and Tadigadapa are located next to each other on the Krishna River’s northern bank, and Tadepalli-Mangalagiri Municipal Corporation is adjacent to the Amaravati capital city. Given that Vijayawada is a crucial part of the capital area, consolidating these regions into a larger urban local body could foster uniform development and attract additional funding, which is essential as financial allocations are population-based, according to retired professor Subrahmanyam.
In fact, during the previous NDA administration, Amaravati Metropolitan Corporation was established, incorporating 29 villages along with Tadepalli and Mangalagiri municipalities. However, after a change in government, this initiative was abandoned, leading to the creation of the Mangalagiri-Tadepalli Municipal Corporation, excluding the capital villages. Now, with the NDA back in power, the idea of establishing a larger corporation has been revisited, but it remains under consideration. For the past decade, the capital villages have lacked local governance, falling outside the Panchayatraj or municipal system.
Currently, a proposal is pending to create the Greater Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, which would integrate satellite villages like Gollapudi, Ramavarappadu, Prasadampadu, Enikepadu, Nidamanuru, Gannavaram, and areas within the Tadigadapa municipality. In addition to focusing on infrastructure development in Amaravati, the state government should prioritize growth in Vijayawada and other regions within the capital area, suggests social activist Ravi Kumar.
