From Our Correspondent
Guntur: Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications and Guntur MP Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar on Saturday said the Andhra Pradesh Government is pursuing a Bill in Parliament to grant statutory recognition to Amaravati as the State’s permanent capital.
Speaking at an AP-CRDA meeting convened to address farmers’ issues, Chandra Sekhar said the proposal had cleared the legal scrutiny process and was now before the Union Home Ministry for further examination. He emphasised that granting legal status to Amaravati was essential to resolve the administrative and judicial complications that stalled the capital’s development between 2019 and 2024.
The Minister said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had already held discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter. Whether the Bill will be tabled and passed in the coming Parliament session remains to be seen, he added.
The issue carries significant political and legal history. The previous YSRCP Government, under the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, attempted to divide the capital functions among Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. The High Court struck down the three-capital law as unconstitutional. The then government challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court.
After coming to power, the TDP-led Government informed the apex court that it would retain Amaravati as the sole capital and vowed to complete its development within three years. The proposed Bill is expected to give legislative backing to this commitment and bring clarity to long-delayed capital projects.