Andhra Pradesh state legislative assembly on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the Central government to extend legal status to the capital city of Amaravati by amending Section-5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 during the ongoing Parliament sessions.
The resolution urged the Centre to include the word “Amaravati” to subsection (2) of Section 5 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and add words: “Amaravati includes the capital city areas notified under Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014” to the explanation to Section-5.
Moving the resolution, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the purpose of the resolution was to get official recognition to Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh and to define its boundaries as per the Act for the comprehensive development of the state.
“The resolution would be sent to the Centre immediately, so that necessary amendments would be made to the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 during the ongoing Parliament session,” Naidu said.
He asserted that once the amendments were carried out, Amaravati would remain the sole and permanent capital of the state. “No one can touch the capital and that it will not move even an inch,” he said, while speaking at the conclusion of the debate in the assembly.
Naidu said the state needed clarity, stability and legal protection on the capital issue in the interest of Andhra Pradesh’s comprehensive development.
Tracing the historical significance of Amaravati, the Chief Minister said the region between the Krishna and Godavari rivers had once served as the capital under the Satavahanas. “This is the land of the Telugu people with a glorious and ancient history, rich in culture and tradition,” Naidu said.
The chief minister said the Sivaramakrishnan committee had itself indicated that 46 per cent of people preferred the capital to be located between Vijayawada and Guntur.
He stressed that Amaravati as the capital did not mean all development would be concentrated there. He said his government had always believed in decentralisation of development, and had therefore distributed several national-level institutions across different parts of the state.
Naidu paid glowing tribute to the farmers of the capital region, recalling that after consultations, they had voluntarily given 34,000 acres within just 58 days for the capital city project. “I bow my head in respect and offer my salutations to the farmers who gave their lands for the capital,” he said.
The chief minister said Amaravati had been envisioned as a self-sustaining project, and reiterated that the vision would certainly be realised.
Giving an update on the capital city works, he said his government had set a target of giving Amaravati a visible shape by 2028. By 2027, trunk roads, layouts and other major infrastructure works would be completed. At present, 91 works worth ₹56,000 crore are currently progressing rapidly in Amaravati.
Deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, state IT minister Nara Lokesh, BJP floor leader P Vishnu Kumar Raju and several members of the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP, took part in the discussion.