New Delhi, March 31 The government is likely to introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday to recognize Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh, fulfilling a vital aspiration of key NDA ally TDP and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The legislation would effectively prevent any future attempts to alter the decision of making Amaravati the sole and permanent capital, as was done by the state's previous government, led by YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
On March 28, the state legislative assembly also passed a resolution requesting the Centre to amend Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act to incorporate the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
As the first chief minister of the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019, TDP supremo Naidu had announced that Amaravati would be the capital of the state and invested extensively in its development.
However, the TDP lost power in the 2019 assembly elections, and Reddy assumed the role of chief minister.
During his tenure, Reddy altered Naidu's decision and announced that Andhra Pradesh would have three capitals – an administrative capital at Visakhapatnam, a legislative capital at Amaravati, and a judicial capital at Kurnool – instead of a single capital city at Amaravati.
After Naidu returned to power in 2024, he announced that Amaravati would be the sole capital of the state.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, under which Telangana was created, recognizes Hyderabad as the capital of the new state, but there was no mention as to where the capital of Andhra Pradesh would be located.
The proposed Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill by the NDA government would solidify Amaravati's status as the sole capital.
The TDP is a key ally of the ruling NDA and provides vital support to the Narendra Modi government with its 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
According to the Bill circulated among Lok Sabha members, the provisions of the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act provide that, from the appointed date, Hyderabad will be the common capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period not exceeding ten years.
After this, Hyderabad will be the capital of Telangana, and a new capital will be established for the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.
After the reorganisation law came into effect, the Andhra Pradesh government, "after due consideration, consultation, and planning, identified and notified "Amaravati" as the new capital of that state," the bill noted.
Once the bill becomes an Act, Amaravati will be legally recognized as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, effective from June 2, 2024.
It stated that significant administrative and legislative measures have been undertaken, in addition to infrastructural developments in and around Amaravati, with the objective of establishing it as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
It observed that on March 28, the state legislative assembly passed a resolution requesting the Centre to amend Section 5 of the Reorganisation Act to incorporate the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
To give effect to the resolution of the state legislative assembly, and to provide "statutory clarity regarding the capital" of Andhra Pradesh, the bill proposes to amend sub-section (2) of section 5 of the reorganisation law to incorporate the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, effective from June 2, 2024.