Andhra Governor approves three-capital bill; Amaravati to be legislative capital of AP

In a major development on Friday, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the three-capital bill which was passed by the state Assembly for the second time. He approved the repeal of the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014, and the passage of AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020. This implies that Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Kurnool shall become the administrative, legislative, and judicial capital of the state respectively. 

While the two bills were originally passed by the AP Assembly on January 20, the Legislative Council where the TDP has a majority referred them to a select committee. However, these bills were again cleared in the Assembly on June 16 after which the Legislative Council was adjourned indefinitely without any discussion on the aforesaid legislation. According to the ruling YSRCP, these bills are deemed to have been passed after the Legislative Council could not pass the bills within the stipulated time. 

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What is the AP Decentralisation Bill? 

This bill divides the state into different zones. Each zone will be governed by a Board that will comprise the CM, a Vice-Chairman, at least one MP, two MLAs, and 4 other members to be nominated by the state government. There will be a full-time Secretary of the Board who will be an officer of the rank of a Principal Secretary and above. The Andhra Pradesh government shall notify the location of each Board and the departments that could be located in any zone.  

Simultaneously, the government also repealed the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014. This legislation was enacted on December 22, 2014, for the development of the state post-bifurcation with a specific area demarcated as the capital. However, as the passage of the AP Decentralisation Bill renders the aforesaid Act virtually redundant, it was necessary to repeal it.  

After the bills were sent to the Governor's office on July 18, TDP requested him not to give assent to the three-capital bill. Moreover, multiple petitions have been filed by TDP leaders and farmer organizations in the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the re-introduction of the bills. Currently, the Andhra Pradesh HC has asked the state government to file its response and adjourned the matter till August 6. 

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