Explained: Andhra's Three-Capital Act, The Plan And The Hurdles
NDTV
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today announced the surprise decision to withdraw the three-capital Act
What is the Act?
The Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill was passed by the Assembly last year to clear the way for three capitals -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Amaravati as legislative capital, and Kurnool as judicial capital. Alongside, the Assembly passed a legislation to repeal the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014, brought during the erstwhile Telugu Desam Party regime to build a new capital at Amaravati after Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
Why was the Act brought?
The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government had argued that it was against focusing on the development of a grand capital while neglecting other parts of the state. Instead, it had argued that having three capitals is part of a decentralised development plan and cited reports by several committees advising this. Politically, it was seen as Mr Reddy's move to prevent arch rival and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu from claiming credit for developing a state-of-the-art capital city at Amaravati.
