The Andhra Pradesh government has changed the district in-charge ministers for 12 out of the 13 districts in the state. The in-charge minister has been changed for all districts except for Chittoor, with IT and Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy retaining the charge.
Ministers were nominated for the districts through a GO issued on Sunday, superseding the earlier nominations passed on July 4.
The district in-charge ministers are responsible for reviewing and monitoring the implementation of various government welfare and development activities in their respective districts, according to the order.
While most of the ministers were simply reshuffled and allotted a different district, three ministers were relieved of the duties of district in-charge and replaced. Two Deputy CMs have been relieved, including Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, commonly known as Nani, who is also the Minister of Health, Family Welfare & Medical Education, and Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, who is also the Revenue Minister. Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha, who was in charge of Nellore district, has also not been re-nominated.
The three ministers who are new to the list, replacing the above, are Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (who will be in-charge of Srikakulam district), Minister for Environment, Forest and Science and Technology Balineni Srinivasa Reddy (Nellore), and Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh (Kadapa).
Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao has been moved from being in-charge of Srikakulam to Vizianagaram. Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Marketing, has been allotted East Godavari instead of Visakhapatnam, where he has been replaced by Agriculture Minister Kanna Babu, who was earlier in-charge of Krishna district.
Similarly, Minister for Transport and I&PR Perni Venkataramaiah has been shuffled from being in-charge of Guntur district to West Godavari, Irrigation Minister Anil Kumar from Prakasam to Kurnool, and Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayan from Kurnool to Anantapur.
Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath has been nominated for Prakasam district instead of Kadapa, replacing Anil Kumar. Rural Development Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy has been shuffled from being in-charge of Anantapur to Krishna district, while Housing Minister Cherukuvada Ranganatha Raju has been given Guntur district in place of Vizianagaram.