Proposal to split combined Visakhapatnam ZP reaches govt

Visakhapatnam: Efforts are underway to bifurcate the Combined Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad (ZP) into three, in line with the district reorganisation carried out in April 2022 that created Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts. While the districts were split nearly four years ago, the ZP has remained undivided until now.Revenue sources confirm that a proposal for division has reached the state govt. Among the three districts, Anakapalli is the largest with 24 mandals, Alluri has 11, and Visakhapatnam is confined to just four.It may be recalled that the NDA govt in the state earlier removed Rampachodavaram division from Alluri district to form a separate Polavaram district. Now, the bifurcation proposal has been forwarded from the Visakhapatnam Collectorate, along with plans to distribute assets mandal-wise.Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has already announced that local body elections will be held within six months, coinciding with the end of the current ZP's elected body's term in Sept. Panchayat raj minister and deputy CM Pawan Kalyan also confirmed that elections would be conducted based on the new district boundaries.By the time elections are notified, the three new zilla parishads are expected to be ready. The CEO of the combined Visakhapatnam ZP has completed the exercise of asset distribution. Anakapalli's ZP administration will function from the zilla parishad guest house, while employee strength assessments are underway for Anakapalli and Alluri districts.Senior officials stated that the distribution of employees will be finalised once the finance department grants approval. Opinions of staff are being collected to ensure smooth allocation across the three new ZPs. Authorities are working to complete the process before the election notification is issued.