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Don’t endorse bills for three capital cities, Chandrababu Naidu tells AP Governor
The YSR Congress party government sent the two bills – one on abolishing AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) which was formed in 2014 to develop Amaravati as the capital city and the second one, to form three capital cities for decentralised administration, to the Raj Bhavan on Saturday.
As the YSR Congress party government’s move to create three capital cities for Andhra Pradesh reached its penultimate stage with the administration sending two crucial bills to Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan for his assent, the opposition parties in the state stepped up their efforts to stall the process.
Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday wrote a six-page letter to the Governor, requesting him not to accept the bills in the best interest of the state, keeping in view the aspirations of the people.
The two bills – the first one, abolishing AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) which was formed in 2014 to develop Amaravati as the capital city and the second one, to form three capital cities for decentralised administration, were sent to the Raj Bhavan on Saturday.
The Jagan government brought in these bills to create executive capital at Visakhapatnam and judicial capital at Kurnool, while retaining the present capital city of Amaravati as the legislative capital.
The Governor sought some time to study the bills before giving his consent. “In all probability, the bills might get the Governor’s nod by Monday,” an official in the chief minister’s office familiar with the development said.
Once the Governor gives his assent to the two bills, they would be sent to the Centre for Presidential assent, since three capitals have to be notified by the Centre, the official said.
Strongly resisting the bills, Naidu wondered how the bills could be sent to the Governor as the state legislative council had referred them to the select committee. “While the government stalled the formation of a select committee, it reintroduced the bills in the legislative assembly and got them passed. When the bills were unlawfully brought before the upper house for a second time, the council did not consider the same,” he pointed out to the Governor.
He pointed out that the issue of the shifting of administrative capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam was pending before the state high court. “Approval of the two bills at this juncture would amount to contempt of the court,” he said.
The TDP chief said the two bills were in violation of Section 6 of AP Reorganisation Act 2014 under which Amaravati was finalised as the capital city through an experts committee. He pointed out that the Act had suggested only one capital for AP.
Naidu alleged that YSRC government was bent upon destroying Amaravati in the name of decentralisation only out of political vendetta. “Amaravati had been a long-standing cultural centre and centrally located place for the capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation for the capital, had said Amaravati would be developed as a more beautiful city than Delhi,” he said.
He further said the Centre had recognised Amaravati as a ‘smart city’ and allocated ₹700 crore, besides providing ₹2,500 crore for developing secretariat, assembly, council, high court and other basic facilities. “It has attracted national and international partnerships with prestigious groups like the Singapore Consortium, Japanese engineers, World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),” he said.
Till now, ₹10,000 crore has been spent on developing the basic infrastructure in Amaravati. This massive project was built on a unique self-financing model that would create huge wealth for the whole state as the city develops by leaps and bounds over time, Naidu said and requested the Governor to consider all these issues before thinking of giving any assent to the bills.
BJP state president Kanna Lakshminarayana and Communist Party of India secretary K Narayana also wrote separate letters the Governor requesting him not to give assent to the three capitals bill.
“The decentralisation bill is against the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, which has a provision for only one capital, and against the wishes of the people,” the BJP leader said.
