Naidu ruled out creating a tiny district with just two divisions but ordered a powerful development authority for the region.
Published Nov 17, 2025 | 1:18 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 17, 2025 | 1:18 PM
Chandrababu Naidu. Credit: x.com/ncbn
Synopsis: Andhra Pradesh GoM approved two new districts – Markapuram (Prakasam) and Madanapalle (Annamayya) – plus boundary shifts and up to six revenue divisions. Aimed at easing travel and fixing YSRCP’s 2022 overhaul, the changes await Cabinet nod for January 2026 rollout. CM Naidu called it “people-centric”. The move will also give tribal areas more authority.
In a move that could redraw Andhra Pradesh’s administrative map, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on district and revenue division reorganisation has recently given the green light for two new districts, with Markapuram in Prakasam and Madanapalle in Annamayya set to serve as their headquarters.
The decision, long in the making, finally breaks the ice on demands that have gathered dust for years.
The GoM also endorsed a clutch of key boundary changes. Nuzvid Assembly constituency will move from Eluru to NTR district; Kaikaluru will shift to Krishna; and Gudur constituency will return to Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district from Tirupati. A call on merging Gannavaram with NTR district is around the corner and will be taken within two days, after speaking to local public representatives.
The seven-member GoM, constituted through a government order on July 22, 2025, is headed by Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Home Minister V. Anitha, BC Welfare Minister BC Janardhan Reddy, Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu, and Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar form the rest of the panel.
The committee was born out of more than 200 representations pouring in from MLAs, MPs, and citizens soon after the TDP-led NDA took office in June 2024—proof that public discontent had reached a tipping point.
The GoM’s brief was to ensure administrative convenience, cut down travel time to district headquarters, and avoid the old problem of Assembly constituencies split across multiple revenue divisions—a thorn in the flesh during the YSRCP government’s 2022 reorganisation that doubled the number of districts from 13 to 26. The message from the new government was to fix what was broken.
Field consultations began in August. District collectors were told to furnish exhaustive data—from road distances and population spread to infrastructure gaps—while public hearings in Prakasam, Annamayya, Eluru, and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts brought ground realities to the table. A preliminary report was readied by the last week of September.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the exercise on 28 October at the Secretariat. He called the 2022 district formation “hasty, unscientific, and politically motivated,” arguing that it had thrown a spanner in the wheels of administration and caused avoidable hardship. He insisted the current overhaul must be “people-centric and data-driven.”
Naidu placed special emphasis on the long-pending demand for Markapuram district. For residents of western Prakasam, who have been knocking on the government’s door for more than two decades, this was a moment of truth. He also directed the panel to rationally re-map revenue divisions, particularly in Polavaram-affected areas, and to keep future assembly delimitation in mind.
A major chunk of the discussion centred on the tribal belts of Chinturu and Rampachodavaram. Residents now spend a whole day just to reach the district headquarters at Paderu—an ordeal by any measure. Naidu ruled out creating a tiny district with just two divisions but ordered a powerful development authority for the region.
Officials are also weighing the pros and cons of merging these tribal areas with plains districts like East Godavari. The current front-running option is to keep the divisions within Alluri Sitarama Raju district but empower them substantially.
At its latest meeting, the GoM focused on a long-standing administrative knot—bringing every assembly constituency under one district to end jurisdictional confusion once and for all. The panel has tentatively cleared up to six new revenue divisions, taking the tally from 77 to 83.
The proposed divisions include Pileru (Annamayya), Addanki and Giddaluru (Prakasam), Madakasira (Sri Sathya Sai), Nakkapalli (Anakapalli), and Banaganapalli (Nandyal). Avanigadda in Krishna district is also under consideration.
Home Minister V. Anitha’s pitch for creating Nakkapalli division with mandals drawn from Yellamanchili and Payakaraopeta has found favour. Two blueprints are on the table—one with eight mandals and another including Yellamanchili, Nakkapalli, Payakaraopeta, Kotavuratla, and S. Rayavaram. Likewise, BC Janardhan Reddy’s plea for Banaganapalli division received an encouraging response.
The Revenue Department has now been tasked with preparing a comprehensive report. Speaking to reporters on 13 November, Revenue Minister Satya Prasad said the report would incorporate all approved proposals and be forwarded to the Chief Minister before heading to the Cabinet.
Government orders for the new districts and divisions are expected by December 2025, with implementation scheduled for January 2026—proof that the government wants to strike while the iron is hot.
Public frustration over long-distance travel has added an extra layer of urgency. Nowhere is this more evident than Penamaluru constituency. Though it is part and parcel of Vijayawada’s urban sprawl, it was stitched into Krishna district in 2022, forcing residents to travel 65 kilometres to Machilipatnam—shelling out roughly Rs 500 for a to and fro trip just to finish routine official work. People have been seeking a merger with NTR district, but the GoM has steered clear of the issue, apparently due to pressure to the contrary.
With the report now entering its final lap, all eyes are on the Cabinet. The government appears determined to set its administrative house in order — and this time, with an eye firmly on the people who must live with the map they draw.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
