Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s native Kadapa is now the biggest urban development body in India. Spread over 12,780 sq km, Annamaiah urban development authority (UDA) that controls the urban areas of Kadapa district, is the first urban development body in the country to have an area over 9,000 sq kilometres.1
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Though Annamaiah UDA has a vast geographic area, its urban planning and development of civic infrastructure largely depends on the revenue it generates or the funds it gets from the state government. Most of the civic bodies and UDAs are cash-strapped. Urban bodies are generally left to fend for themselves often affecting development programmes. However, Annamaiah UDA may not face any funds crunch as incidentally, Jagan had the other day said in the state Assembly that he had special love for his home district and would do anything to develop it. Already, Pulivendula, which is part of the Annamaiah UDA, has been receiving a lion’s share in development works. Pulivendula is represented by Jagan in the state assembly.
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- 1. No urban, metropolitan or regional development authority in the country including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai have such a large area. So far, the biggest urban development body was the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), that controls Amaravati area, but Kadapa has now overtaken it in terms of the geographic expanse. The state government issued orders including 520 villages spread over 41 mandals adding 7,388 sq km to Annamaiah UDA taking its over all area to 12,780 sq km.