The Andhra Pradesh (A.P.,) High Court (HC,) on the 18th of December, issued an order asking for details regarding the State capital development issue in A.P.
The petition was filed after the recent announcement of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) about Andhra Pradesh having 3 capitals.
On the 17th of December, the A.P., Government proposed the State have 3 capitals—Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.
Earlier, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) set up an expert committee to review the projects in the capital city of A.P. A bench of judges, headed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari, the Chief Justice of A.P. HC, reviewed a petition filed against the State Government, demanding the expert committee be abolished.
Ambati Sudhakar Rao, the advocate representing the petitioner, asked the A.P., Government to justify stopping the development projects in Amaravati. He also said the State Government is acting against the Capital Region Development Administration (CRDA) Act, which clarifies development work in the capital of the State must be continued.
The A.P., High Court ordered the Secretary of the Home Department, Conservator of Environment and Forests, Chairman of the CRDA, Commissioner of the State Government, Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Municipalities, Chairman of the State Level Environmental Impact Study Authority and the A.P., Pollution Control Board to submit a report regarding the issues in Amaravati.
The petition was reviewed at a time when the residents of Amaravati and A.P., are protesting against the decision of the YSRCP to have 3 State capitals.
Farmers in Amaravati, who gave their lands for the development of Amaravati as the State’s capital, are demanding answers from the State Government for not choosing Amaravati as the sole State capital.
Opposition parties like the JanaSena Party and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also criticised Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of A.P., for taking such a decision.
Concluding the hearing, the A.P., High Court asked the Government departments to submit a report and adjourned the case to February 2020.
Stay tuned for further updates.
