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The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led government in Andhra Pradesh has added two new districts to the existing 26 districts on Wednesday, December 31. The stated aim behind the administrative change is to, “streamline governance, improve service delivery and address regional development needs more effectively.”
The two new districts are Polavaram and Markapuram. Polavaram district was carved out of the Alluri Sitharama Raju district’s Ramachodavaram and Chinturu revenue divisions. Markapuram has been carved out of Prakasam district’s Markapuram and Kanigiri revenue divisions.
The new Polavaram district with 11 mandals has been purportedly designed to rehabilitate and develop villages affected by the Polavaram irrigation project. Markapuram on the other hand was carved out of Prakasam to meet the needs of drought prone farming belts where groundwater scarcity has hindered development.
After bifurcation in 2014, Andhra Pradesh was left with only 13 districts. The previous YSRCP government doubled that number to 26 in 2022.
The current Telugu Desam Party-led state government had promised during last year's election that districts would be reorganised and new revenue divisions would be formed to correct the unscientific formation of new districts during the previous YSRCP government.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had said that the ill-conceived decision of the previous YSRCP government on the formation of new districts caused regional differences, as it had not taken into account the aspirations of the people.