The man behind AP capital passes away

Sivaramakrishnan, the senior bureaucrat who headed the UPA 2 instituted central committee to probe the possibilities of setting up the new capital for the residual Andhra Pradesh, passed away in Delhi this morning. Sivaramakrishnan belonged to the 1958 IAS batch and worked in the West Bengal cadre after his formal training in Delhi. The senior bureaucrat's last rites will be performed tomorrow in Delhi.

Sivaramakrishnan had been suffering from serious illness for the last one year and was undergoing treatment. However, being a workaholic he always preferred to work on the AP Capital report despite illness and wanted to finish the report soon after he learnt about his terminal disease. Sivaramakrishnan toured all the 11 districts of AP and collected 4,728 suggestions from the citizens of AP. The 187 page memorandum on the formation of the new capital submitted by him was instrumental in the understanding of the pros and cons of the capital city.

Sivaramakrishnan was always keen on urbanisation of rural areas and it was one of the prominent reasons behind the UPA government appointing him as the head of the committee. Some of the prominent recommendations of his report include, giving special funds to balance the deficit-ridden AP, decentralization of capital and development, judicious strategy for equal development of all districts etc.