It doesn’t happen in the independent India that a state is formed everyday. Many a new state is carved out from an existing integral state on various situations. Some times it is linguistic, some time administrative prudence etc.
Many a time this has happened and states are formed and a newly formed state has to create its own integrated capital. Many a time this opportunity is wasted by vested interests who will try to use one of the cities and make a mockery of the selection, in turn creating major problems to the people living there.
Selection of a state capital should be done with intent of making it only as a political and administrative capital and not an industrial township. Once upon a time Delhi was such a capital. Most of the property was owned by the government and even land for public utilities like fuel stations were leased out by the government. However this scenario got changed with the advent of Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad etc each place vying to out beat the other with incentives for industry and now what we see of our nations capital is a story of decay and dismay.
We have Gandhinagar a state capital of Gujarat which is purely an administrative capital and has been designed so well that you will not find any kind of congestion or filth that is normally associated with many a state capital.
We do not need the capital city to be encircled with industry, what is needed for a capital city is connectivity for people to reach there through convenient mode of transport. We need place for the government to function; we need government employees to be accommodated with few kendriya vidyalaya’s or their ilk to be functioning to ensure their children get proper education. For the visitors who are coming into the capital on work to stay some kind of economy to hi-fi hotels/guest houses.
Entire new state needs to be mapped for it’s growth potential, a detailed planning has to be done keeping in mind the natural resources available in that new state. Ports, industry, commerce need to be planned to be set up through out the state rather than coveting it to one region or one location, which will only lead to further unrest. Once again look at the example of Gujarat, we have cities like Vadodara, Surat & Rajkot which are more industrially flourishing than the Ahmedabad, which is considered as the quasi capital due to it’s proximity to Gandhinagar. Even real estate is more expensive in these cities compared to Ahmedabad. Today in Gujarat far flung areas like Jamnagar & Bhuj are under development with many a industry being set up in those areas, keeping in mind the natural resources.
Yes one aspect which might be a necessity is availability of water source while selecting the new location and selection may keep this factor in mind rather than investing billions of rupees to pump water to the capital akin to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Let us take a possible scenario of Andhra Pradesh. If Telengana is separated as some segment of the population desires for the same, what will be left of this huge state will be the SeemAndhra region. This region will have vast coastal area, mineral rich lands, hard working and enterprising populace. It is also endowed with Grand Trunk roads, and major railway lines criss crossing the region.
Today Vishakapatnam is already an industrial town and continued to be developed as one. Earlier a Petro corridor was proposed by the previous government, which could be revived between Kakinada & Visakapatnam, due to the availability of Natural gas in that region. Power plants are being proposed in the coastal area due to it’s proximity to the ports and also to facilitate use of sea water for cooling the boilers. While more power generation is desirable, the installation should not be concentrated and proper measures should be taken to ensure environmental protection.
Vijayawada had always been seen as a commercial capital and could be developed accordingly. Guntur district is known for its lime stone deposits and focus could be the cement industry. Due to the integral connectivity between Tenali, Guntur & Vijayawada by railway line it could be a very good modern mahanagara which could focus on ITES services.
Tirupati & Nellore could be focussed for ITES services due to their proximity to Chennai and connectivity too. Rayalaseema can become a major industrial space utilising the natural resources & minerals available there. Similarly Srikakulam & Vijayanagarm could be industrial hubs. Prakasam district could focus on Granite industry and with the advent of a port it could export all its material from that port.
Districts like Godavari’s & Krishna can come up with food based industry and could exploit the ports in a big way. Chittoor district could be focussed for fruit based industry. With a dedicated planning and integral development of each district we can find the state flourishing rather than just the capital city.
Just in case Hyderabad becomes a Union Territory, Telangana too would have the advantage of developing the state in an extensive manner instead of entire growth being centred around the capital city as they too might have to choose their new capital.
Instead of fighting for the spoils, people have to become more practical and help their state to develop into a progressive state, which will in turn help them to be rewarded through the growth.
Jai bolo to a smaller state with integrated development
