Panel report on capital shift to Vizag accepted

Visakhapatnam: In a crucial decision, the Andhra Pradesh government has approved the report of the Committee of Officers for establishing the Chief Minister’s Camp Office and the ‘transit’ offices and residences for other key functionaries and departmental heads in Visakhapatnam.

Faced with legal challenges to develop Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, as per GO Rt. Nos. 2004 and 2015, it has been decided to arrange ‘transit’ accommodation and facilities for review meetings in North Andhra as per the promises made for development of all the regions of the State. The committee has identified its own buildings for various departments with a built-up area of 2.27 lakh sqft. In the event that their own departmental office accommodation is unavailable, then Millennium Towers A and B, Rushikonda with an area of 1.75 lakh sqft is ready for use with minimal work.

After several announcements and speculations on shifting to Visakhapatnam, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that he will relocate to Viisakhapatnam with his family sometime in December. Before that, there was speculation he would inaugurate his camp office coinciding with the Dasami on September 24.

According to GO Rt. No. 2283 issued by Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy on behalf of the General Administration (Political) Department dated November 22, 2023, the Committee of Officers has submitted the report. “The committee, based on field visits and interactions with the field level officers, recommended various options to reduce costs and optimise use of government buildings for residential purposes in the first instance. The AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC)’s resorts which have been rebuilt with an investment of Rs 200 crore, are getting a makeover to be converted into Chief Minister’s Camp Office. The committee earlier held the view that the resort is convenient from a security point of view and due to availability of adequate parking space and facility for conferences.

The government contended that the Chief Minister and his entourage will visit the north coastal districts regularly for conducting reviews and monitoring of the welfare and development programmes necessitating night-halts and frequent stay in Visakhapatnam and surrounding areas calling for transit accommodation. The latest GO said the government hereby ordered that the office accommodation available at Millennium Towers A&B shall be allocated to important departments which are not having buildings on their own in Visakhapatnam.