AP State Government commits not to shift capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam till pertaining bills are passed

The Andhra Pradesh State Government committed, on Friday, to the AP High Court that the shifting of the state’s executive capital, from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, will not happen until both bills, concerning the capital, are passed by the legislature. One bill is regarding the decentralization of administration in Andhra Pradesh. The other caters to the repealing of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act. The Advocate General, Subhramanyam Sriram, argued on behalf of the State Government and requested for ten days time to file an affidavit regarding the latter’s latest commitment. The AP High Court bench, consisting of Chief Justice JK Maheswari, Justice AV Seshasai and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy, obliged to the Advocate General’s request and ordered for the affidavit to be submitted in ten days. The AP State Government’s commitment comes in after the AP High Court order, given in January this year, stating that the capital shift must not happen, while the Public Interest Litigations (PILs) are still pending.

The two bills were passed by the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly, in January 2020, but were stalled in the State Legislative Council. They were then referred to a select committee by, Legislative Council Chairman, MA Shariff. However, the Legislature Secretary refused to do so, stating that the select committee cannot be constituted, owing to procedural grounds. It may be recalled that the current State Government adopted a resolution to actually abolish the legislative council, in January 2020, and sought the Centre’s approval for the same. If the Centre passes a bill in the Parliament, supporting the state’s move, the legislative council in Andhra Pradesh will cease to be functional.

The AP State Government’s move, to decentralise administration in Andhra Pradesh, came in after two committees, constituted to advise on the issue, suggested that Visakhapatnam would be an ideal choice to set up the executive capital in the state. The G.N. Rao Committee and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in their extensive research, deemed that the Amaravati Project would take more than 40 years. This will need an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore for construction alone – pushing the state into debt. It was stated that Vizag would thereby be an ideal choice for the state’s executive capital while developing Amaravati as a hub for education, food, fisheries and hi-tech organic agriculture. Thereby, giving a strong foundation for the decision to shift the state capital.