Jagan govt goes to Supreme Court, TDP that poured energy and money into Amaravati says will fight all the way
Vishakapatnam, September 20,2022: Andhra Pradesh’s wait for a capital is set to continue with the YSR Congress Party government approaching the Supreme Court against a High Court order asking it to go ahead with construction at Amaravati.
However, with a grand capital at Amaravati being the legacy of the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is not willing to concede an inch.
The YSRCP government is instead proposing three capitals for the state, claiming this would help “decentralisation” and hence “all-round development of the state”. As per its plan, there would be an administrative capital at Visakhapatnam, legislative capital at Amaravati, and a judicial capital at Kurnool. Visakhapatnam to Amaravati is about 400 km, while Kurnool is 700 km away. According to the reports published in indianexpress.com
Jagan recently said Visakhapatnam could be the “natural choice (for administrative capital)” as it is the biggest city in the state with ready-made infrastructure.
While opinion can be divided on the practicality of running a government from three places, the TDP’s argument is that 33,000 acres have already been acquired for the capital at Amaravati and some infrastructure built, and hence the state government should continue to develop it instead of shifting elsewhere.
Naidu has said that a High Court complex, a Legislature complex and high-rise buildings with accommodation for All India Service are among the constructions completed, along with laying of six-lane roads and a storm-water drainage system. “Why waste all that has already been established? The Amaravati area is equidistant from North Andhra and Rayalaseema, it is a good place for establishing the capital city,’’ he says.
TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh Naidu says the party will not relent on the issue and will continue to fight for Amaravati, including supporting farmers expecting high compensation for their land, who are protesting against the shifting of the capital.
Naidu had hired the Singapore government to prepare the master plan for the capital city. He also hired Foster+Partners to design the various government buildings, and retained Tollywood director S S Rajamouli as an advisor after watching the sets in the movie Baahubali.
