AP govt eyeing to get bill on capital cleared early

The Port city Visakhapatnam, which has the sobriquet City of Destiny, will soon become the Capital of Andhra Pradesh if the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government overcomes the opposition in the Legislative Council and also possible legal hurdles.

The government on Monday brought-in a bill to give statutory backing to its plans of having three seats of governance for the state with Visakhapatnam the executive capital housing the secretariat.

Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Area, for all practical purposes, could be designated the state capital as the main seat of power the Secretariat is proposed to be located there, as per the plan outlined by the government in the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020.

While the ruling YSR Congress termed the bill 'historic', the principal opposition Telugu Desam called it 'unconstitutional'.

In December 2014, the then Telugu Desam government enacted the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, under which the Amaravati region has been designated as the state capital.

The actual capital city Amaravati was, however, not notified in the last five years and it remains only a cluster of 29 villages.

Given its overwhelming strength in the assembly, the YSRC government will have a smooth sailing in getting the new Bill approved there, but the TDP, which is in a majority in the Council, is determined to delay its passage, if not stall it.

With 28 members and possible support of BJP and others, the TDP could effectively upset the government plans by delaying the bill by at least three months.

Though it was rumoured that the government might bring in a Money Bill to thwart the opposition efforts, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath, however, only moved a general Bill and called it historic.

The Council, as per rules, has the power to return the Bill to the assembly, suggesting possible amendments, only twice, after which it has to necessarily pass it.

As it has only two days to get the Council clearance in the current session, the YSRC is working on a counter-strategy to foil the TDP plans and get the Bill cleared without a hitch.

On Monday, the ruling party once again renewed the threat to abolish the Council, sending the opposition members into a tizzy.

Another strategy worked out by the government side is to deploy all 24 ministers in full strength in the Council to exert psychological pressure, particularly on the Chairman, to hurry things up and send the Bill back to the Assembly on Tuesday itself even if not cleared.

We can then send the Bill to the Council afresh on Wednesday and possibly hope for its passage. If not, we have to wait till the Budget session in March, a minister said.

This Bill in itself is unconstitutional. How could it speak of three capitals when there is no such provision in the Constitution? It will not stand legal scrutiny, veteran TDP member Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary said.

In the Bill, the government said the Raj Bhawan, Secretariat and offices of the Heads of Departments of government shall be located at the Executive Capital of Visakhapatnam."

The state capital is where the Secretariat is, a minister observed in an informal chat, when asked whats the actual new capital of AP as the bill referred to three different capitals.

To enable a decentralised model of governance and to provide inclusive governance in the state there shall be three Seats of Governance in Andhra Pradesh, to be called as 'Capital(s)'.

Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Area (hereinafter referred to as Amaravati) to be called as the 'Legislative Capital'; Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Area (hereinafter referred to as Visakhapatnam) to be called as the 'Executive Capital' and Kurnool Urban Development Area (hereinafter referred to as Kurnool) to be called as the 'Judicial Capital', the Bill read.

Interestingly, the VMRDA jurisdiction stretches to even adjoining areas in Vizianagaram district where the state Secretariat could be located in the future.

The government's plan, though, is to shift base in the next few months to start its operations from temporary premises on the picturesque beach road outside Visakhapatnam.

The bill also envisages initiating steps to seek relocation of the principal seat of High Court of Andhra Pradesh to the Judicial Capital of Kurnool and for constitution of bench(es) of the High Court in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014."

The hitch, however, is the President has already notified Amaravati as the principal seat of the AP High Court, in accordance with the Reorganisation Act.

Changing this involves a whole new process while a legal question is also being raised as to whether the President is empowered to alter the notification already issued.

Also, the concurrence of the high court and the Supreme Court may be required to relocate the principal seat of the HC, legal professionals aver.

But the YSR Congress government is seeking to place this burden onto the BJP's shoulders since the national party promised in its election manifesto to locate the AP High Court in Rayalaseema, of which Kurnool is a nerve Centre.