Ever since YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced formation of new districts, there have been a lot of reports over the delimitation of existing 13 districts.
The Jagan government has appointed a high-level official committee headed by chief secretary, which in turn appointed sub-committees to look into boundary issues, legal issues, infrastructure issues and IT-related issues.
The committees are eliciting opinions from various sections of people and preparing reports. In all probability, the exercise might be completed by December end and Jagan is expected to make an announcement on January 26, coinciding with the Republic Day celebrations.
Meanwhile, there have been speculations in the social media about the number of new districts to be formed in the state.
As per the announcement made by Jagan, there would be one district for every parliamentary constituency – which means, the total number of districts would be 25.
However, some ministers hinted that the number could be 26, as Araku parliamentary constituency, being biggest in the state, would be divided into two districts, so that there would be an exclusive district for tribals.
Interestingly, for the last few hours, a list has been in circulation in the social media, stating that there would be 32 districts. The districts that have been mentioned in the list are:
Palasa, Srikakulam, Parvathipuram, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Araku, Anakapalle, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, Narsapuram, Eluru, Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, Amaravati, Guntur, Bapatla, Narsaraopet, Markapuram, Ongole, Nellore, Gudur, Tirupati, Chittoor, Madanapalle, Hindupur, Anantapur, Adoni, Kurnool, Nandyal, Kadapa and Rajampet.
In fact, the list also has the number of assembly segments in each district. It remains to be seen how far this list is correct!