Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said the state capital will be shifted to Visakhapatnam. “Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which is going to be our capital in the days to come. I myself would also be shifting over to Visakhapatnam in the months to come as well,” he said.
Even though the High Court declared last year that it cannot make a law for that, Reddy is still sticking to the three capitals planned—Kurnool and the current capital Amaravati.
The YSRCP government of Reddy has appealed the case, which is currently before the Supreme Court. The claim about Visakhapatnam was made by Reddy, who has continuously favoured the coastal city as the Executive Capital while promoting an investment convention that would be held there.
What is the Three Capital Case?
The N Chandrababu Naidu-led government in 2015 acquired over 33,000 acres of land from farmers to develop Amaravati as the capital of the state.
After Jagan Mohan Reddy took over in 2019, the state government wanted to have three capitals,
- Visakhapatnam-Executive Capital
- Amaravati-Legislative capital
- Kurnool-Judicial capital
and passed an appropriate legislation. The purpose was to decentralise powers.
The Jagan Mohan Reddy government passed a Bill in the Assembly in November last year, repealing the controversial AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, which was intended to establish three capitals for the state.
Without putting any timeframe, Jagan, speaking on the floor of the Assembly said the government would come out with a “comprehensive, complete and better” Bill after plugging loopholes in the previous version.
Decentralization Act: What Is It?
The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Capitals are the three seats of government that were intended to be established under the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020.
Following the adoption of the APCRDA Repeal Act, 2020, the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) was renamed the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
why three capitals?
The West Godavari to Nellore coastline stretch, the underdeveloped Rayalaseema region, and the north coastal districts were all targeted for development by the YSR Congress Party government’s plan to decentralise the administration by establishing three capitals, a report by The Hindu said.
The current administration also believed that given the state of the economy, the previous administration’s extravagant capital plan was unaffordable.
What Had Happened Latest in the Case
In March last year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled against the three capitals and directed the government to develop Amaravati as the state capital as envisaged.
The Court also in its verdict on March 3, 2022 said the state Legislature lacked competence to make any legislation for shifting, bifurcating or trifurcating the capital.
The state government filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court Order.
The High Court also set timelines for the development of Amaravati. Several ministers have been categorically saying that the government would come up with a new Bill on the three capitals issue, the ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court notwithstanding.
What’s the Issue With Amravati?
Amaravati is the site of an alleged land scam, for which the YSRCP has called for an investigation against Naidu.
According to the party, some individuals who were informed beforehand where the new capital would be located, bought properties there in anticipation of a future economic boom. The state administration said in a submission to the Center that such individuals purchased more than 4,000 acres in 2014.
While denying any wrongdoing, N Chandrababu Naidu had questioned why the YSRCP government was selling off the land it had initially purchased from farmers to erect a new capital. The AP Capital Region Development Authority’s choice to lease out the residential towers—built for government employees—to private companies was especially criticised a few months ago by the Leader of the Opposition.
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