Tag: visakhapatnam state capital

Visakhapatnam Will Be Andhra Pradesh Capital, Says Jagan Mohan Reddy

The announcement may run into legal hurdles, as the Andhra Pradesh high court had ordered the government to develop Amaravati as the state capital.

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday announced that Visakhapatnam will be his state’s new capital, continuing the controversy over his plans to alter his predecessor N. Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to establish Amaravati as the capital.

Addressing the preparatory meeting for the Global Investors Summit, which will be held in Visakhapatnam in March, Jagan said that his office will also be shifting to the coastal city in the months to come.

“Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which will be our capital in the days to come. I will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come,” he said at the International Diplomatic Alliance meet in Delhi.

The move may run into legal hurdles, as the Andhra Pradesh high court had ordered the YSR Congress party government to develop Amaravati as the state capital in March last year, as envisioned by the previous Telugu Desam Party government. The court rejected Jagan’s plan to have three capitals – Visakhapatnam (executive capital), Amaravati (legislative capital) and Kurnool (judicial capital). The government has challenged the decision before the Supreme Court.

The decision to “decentralise” Amaravati, located between Vijayawada and Guntur, as the capital was challenged in the high court by farmers who had parted with their lands for the city’s development.

Even before the judgment, the Jagan government in November 2021 repealed the laws that were passed to develop three capitals in Andhra Pradesh for the purpose of “decentralised development”. However, it had said that it plans to bring in a more “comprehensive legislation” to go ahead with the plan.

According to The News Minute, TDP spokesperson Pattabhi Ram said Jagan’s announcement goes against the high court’s judgment. “The case is sub judice before Supreme Court. It is due for hearing. In such a context, how can the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh make a statement on an issue which is sub judice?” he said.