AP Govt Committed to Decentralization, Focus of Collectors Should Be On SDGs: CM YS Jagan

AMARAVATI: Reiterating the commitment to decentralization for development and balanced growth Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that administrative reforms were part of the State policy from Village Secretariats to smaller districts to the capitals.   

Inaugurating the 13 newly carved out districts virtually here on Monday, the Chief Minister said they would continue with the decentralization policy and the new districts will provide better administration, transparency and the delivery mechanism of welfare would be smooth and effective. 

The new districts carved are Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Seetharamaraju, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Konaseema, Eluru, NTR, Palanadu, Bapatla, Nandyala, Sri Satya Sai, Annamayya and Tirupati taking the total districts in the State to 26. 

Drawing a comparison with the other states in the country, he stated that even smaller states like Arunachal Pradesh have 25 districts for better administration and of all the 727 districts in the country, Andhra Pradesh is the only state with a high average of 38.15 lakh people in each district. With the creation of 13 more districts, the average population density has come down to 19.07 lakh, he said.

Recalling the 2019 elections, he stated that YSRCP has promised to create each Parliament constituency into a district, and going by the population density the tribal area had to be split into two districts. 

Focus on SDGS  

Explaining that the role and scope of Collectors has widened very wide from mere collection of revenue to heading the delivery mechanism of welfare schemes and outreach to people, the Chief Minister said the focus of all the 26 District Collectors should be on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The responsibilities of the Collectors have gone beyond Law and Order and Revenue, with the addition of Excise, Registration, Social Welfare, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Primary Education, Land Administration, Civil Supplies, Disaster Management, along with election management, among others. The reforms are aimed at bringing the administration closer to the people.

The performance of the Collectors would also be assessed on SDGs and SOPs for achieving the goals were also released on the occasion. The formation of new districts, increasing the sub-divisions and all such steps are being taken for growth in SDG, he said adding that the performance ratings would be given based on the SDG. 

He highlighted that Collectors, SPs, and other district officials would be working on the same premises with integrated buildings, to cut the travel time of the citizens. He stated major changes were brought in with the introduction of village secretariats, RBKs, revamping government schools and hospitals, providing ration and pension right at the doorstep, women's safety, and many more welfare schemes and stressed the need for changes at the revenue level.

The Chief Minister also released the District Handbook of Statistics, which contains comprehensive information on the districts created by the Planning Department and also a Special Operating Procedures Book during the event.

He interacted with the Collectors of Alluru Seetharamaraju, Bapatla, and Tirupati districts. Minister for Transport, I & PR Perni Venkatramaiah, Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Chief Adviser to the Chief Minister Ajaya Kallam, Chief Secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, DGP KV Rajendranath Reddy, CCLA Special CS G Sai Prasad, Special CS for Agriculture Poonam Malakondaiah, Special CS for Industries Karikal Valaven, R&B Chief Secretary M T Krishnababu, Planning Secretary Vijay Kumar and other senior officials were present at the event.

Also Watch: CM YS Jagan Formally Launches 13 New Districts | Andhra Pradesh