Dokka for creating new districts

HYDERABAD: While TRS, Telangana Congress and TDP leaders are agitating for a separate state, a minister of the Kiran Kumar Reddy government has proposed creation of new districts for administrative convenience.Rural development minister Dokka Manikya Vara Prasada Rao who came up with the proposal, has underlined the need for creating seven to 10 new districts for better governance. In his proposal, Vara Prasada Rao laid emphasis on decentralisation of district administration to ensure that the development programmes and welfare schemes reach remote areas. He said the government should set up an Administrative Reforms Committee to study the issue.Talking to Express, Vara Prasada Rao said he would submit report on his proposal for creation of new districts to the state government in three or four days. As per his proposal, there will not be any change in Assembly segments despite creation of new districts. The creation of new districts will help develop backward areas in East and West Godavari, Adilabad, Mahabubnagar and Nizamabad, which are big in size. Karnataka state with a population of 4.5 crore, has 34 districts. There are  32 districts in Tamil Nadu with a population of 7.2 crore, he said.  “People of my native district Guntur with a population of about 50 lakh, need to travel 200 km to reach the district headquarters if they have any work in the collectorate or other offices. If new districts are carved out, it will be convenient to people of remote areas. It will also promote balanced development,” he said.The minister is of the view that it will not be a big issue to government as creation of new districts is a state subject. Growth targets can be easily realised with the creation of new districts, he said. Though the issue was already taken to the notice of chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, he has not shown any interest in creation of new districts. A fresh proposal will be made again in this regard, he added.The minister has also decided to prepare a document on administrative reforms and circulate it to all political parties, intellectuals and social scientists to elicit their views.