 "What is Andhra Pradesh’s capital? It is no longer Hyderabad. Here’s why")
For Andhra Pradesh, 2 June (Sunday) was a significant day in history. It’s the day, the state lost Hyderabad as its capital. As of 2 June, Hyderabad is now only the capital of Telangana, which was carved out of Andhra in 2014.
How did this happen? What happens now that Andhra has lost its capital? Which will be Andhra’s new capital? Here’s what we know.
Hyderabad no longer Andhra’s capital?
On 2 June, Hyderabad, one of India’s bustling metros, ceased to be Andhra’s capital and will now exclusively serve as the capital of Telangana. The change is stipulated by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014.
As per Section 5(1) of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad was designated as the common capital for both states for a period not exceeding 10 years from 2 June, 2014. And Section 5(2) stipulates that after this period, Hyderabad would become the sole capital of Telangana, and a new capital would be established for Andhra Pradesh.
The AP Reorganisation Act of 2014 was the result of the prolonged struggle for a separate state. It was owing to this legislation that Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, becoming the 29th and the youngest state in Union of India.
What will be Andhra’s new capital?
As of now, Andhra has no capital. Earlier, then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had decided to build a new capital in Amaravati. In the interim, he shifted his administration to Vijayawada and parts of Guntur.
In fact, the Naidu-led government had proposed setting up a “world-class capital” in Amaravati and even begun acquiring land for the same. An Indian Express report states that around 33,000 acres of land was pooled from villages in Guntur and NTR (formerly Krishna) districts for the capital-building exercise and in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had even laid the foundation stone.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHowever, after YSR Congress’ Jagan Mohan Reddy stormed to power in 2019, he dismissed the idea of Amaravati as the capital and instead, floated a three-capital proposal: the executive capital at Visakhapatnam, the legislative capital at Amaravati, and the judicial capital at Kurnool.
For many, Jagan Mohan Reddy’s plan for three capitals was a nod to the complicated history of the region and all its different identities. In fact, Professor H Lajipathi Rai, chairman of the Joint Action Committee for Decentralised Administration had been quoted as telling The Print earlier: “We’re a new state, and the chief minister wants to develop us, instead of focusing on one capital in one region. He is determined on three capitals, because it will help directly develop backward regions of Andhra Pradesh. Why locate all eggs in one basket with one capital?”
However, these plans ran into difficulties, with the matter even reaching the Andhra High Court. The court had then ordered the state government to develop Amaravati as the capital as envisaged under the previous TDP government.
**Also read: The Amaravati dream lies in tatters: AP farmers hit streets as Jagan Mohan Reddy govt toys with idea of three capitals**However, the matter has gained traction again with the state going to the polls with the results awaited on 4 June. During his campaign for the state, Reddy had said that if he remained in power, he would name Visakhapatnam as the executive capital and also hold his swearing-in ceremony there.
What happens now?
Until now, Andhra utilised Hyderabad for its administrative functions, including a portion of the Secretariat complex and the Lake View government guest house, which served as the camp office for the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.
However, now with Hyderabad ceasing to be its capital, Telangana will take over control of these buildings. According to a report in The Hindu, Offices of Film Development Corporation, Civil Supplies Corporation, Dairy Development Cooperative Federation, Vaidya Vidhana Parishad and other offices fall under Schedule IX and X institutions and it is for the state government to take a call on whether they will allow them to be in the possession of the neighbouring state or explore ways to take them over.
Notably, the Andhra government had written to its Telangana counterpart in January, seeking permission to retain three buildings: the Hermitage Complex, CB-CID headquarters and Lake View Guest House and even offered to pay rent until it secured permanent accommodation. However, owing to the Model Code of Conduct imposed in the state for the elections, discussions on the same couldn’t be held.
In fact, the Telangana government is expected to get possession of over 55 buildings from the Andhra Pradesh government located in prime places in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
There’s also the matter of further distribution of other government assets. As per the ninth schedule of Act, there are 89 government corporations and companies like AP Seeds Corporation and AP Women’s Finance Corporation, which have to be bifurcated. Under the tenth schedule, there are 107 training institutions and centres like Telugu University and Hindi Academy which also need to be bifurcated.
With inputs from agencies
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