Andhra Pradesh adds 13 new districts, total count in state to 26

Andhra Pradesh: The Andhra Pradesh government has revised the number of districts in the state, increasing it from the existing 13 to 26.

On the eve of Republic Day, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government has revised the number of districts in the state.

The Andhra government issued a new official gazette notification for carving out 13 new districts in the state under the AP Districts Formation Act, Section 3(5).

These have been carved out from the existing 13 districts, bringing the number of districts in the state to 26.

The new names of the new 13 districts are as follows:

Manyam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Kona Seema, Eluru, NTR District, Bapatla, Palnadu, Nandyal, Sri Satyasai, Annamayya and Sri Balaji district. The names of the existing 13 districts include Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Anantapuram, Kadapa, Kurnool, and Chittoor were also carried while forming the new districts.

As many as 24 Lok Sabha constituencies are being converted into districts, including the Araku Lok Sabha constituency in Visakhapatnam which will be divided into two districts.

Here is a list of the new and the respective headquarters.

1. Srikakulam – Srikakulam
2. Vizianagaram – Vizianagaram
3. Manyam Dist – Parvathipuram (new)
4. Alluri Sitharama Raju District – Paderu (new)
5. Visakhapatnam – Visakhapatnam
6. Anakapalli – Anakapalli (new)
7. Kakinada – Kakinada (new)
8. Kona Seema – Amalapuram (new)
9. East Godavari – Rajamahendravaram
10.  West Godavari – Bheemavaram
11. Eluru – Eluru (new)
12. Krishna – Machilipatnam
13. NTR District – Vijayawada (new)
14. Guntur – Guntur
15. Bapatla – Bapatla (new)
16. Palnadu – Narsaraopeta (new)
17. Prakasam – Ongole
18. SPS Nellore – Nellore
19. Kurnool – Kurnool
20. Nandyal – Nandyal (new)
21. Ananthapuram – Ananthapuram
22. Sri Satyasai District – Puttaparthy (new)
23. YSR Kadapa – Kadapa
24. Annamayya District – Rayachoty (new)
25. Chittoor – Chittoor
26. Sri Balaji Dist. – Tirupati (new)

The last time a new district was formed in undivided Andhra Pradesh was in 1979, with the constitution of Vizianagram district.

The cabinet decision came late Tuesday following which planning secretary GSRKR Vijaykumar handed over the recommendations to chief secretary Sameer Sharma. The notification was issued subsequently to be released in all districts.