RBI ignores Amaravati, to establish regional office in Visakhapatnam

VIJAYAWADA: In what can be seen as a big shock to the advocates of the Amaravati capital campaign, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reportedly decided to establish its regional office of Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam. The decision of the country’s central bank comes with a sense of intrigue and assumes significance as it has announced in the past that it would establish its regional office for Andhra Pradesh only after its capital was finalised.

Also, the big move by the RBI comes at a time when the contentious Amaravati capital issue, as opposed to the State Government’s decision to create three capitals, is still pending in the Supreme Court. As per its norms and conventions, the RBI establishes its regional office of a given state only in its capital region. Against this backdrop, the RBI decision to set up its regional office in Visakhapatnam sparked speculation on social media platforms as to whether the port city had already been finalised as the capital of Andhra Pradesh or it was just a foregone conclusion.

It is known that after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the RBI has been operating its regional office for Andhra Pradesh from its Hyderabad premises itself as it is the common capital for the two Telugu states for a period of 10 years. The bank delegations have been attending the meetings organised by the Andhra Pradesh Finance Department in Amaravati till now.

However, at the request of the YSRCP government, the RBI has decided to set up the regional office in Visakhapatnam and has been scouting for suitable building space. The RBI is seeking a building with an area of 30,000 square feet and the state government authorities are reportedly searching for it. The officials are preparing to establish a regional office with 500 employees in the first phase and expand its operations subsequently.

On the other hand, the YSRCP government is making efforts to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital as part of the process for the creation of three capitals and is also gearing up for the shifting of offices to Visakhapatnam from Amaravati. The Chief Minister's office will also be shifted to Vizag very soon.

Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission and Lokayukta have already shifted their offices from Hyderabad to Kurnool and the remaining offices are also being moved from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam.