Hyderabad No Longer The Joint Capital of Telangana and Andhra | What It Means

Hyderabad: Starting today, June 2nd, Hyderabad ceases to serve as the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, according to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014. Section 5 of the act, "On and from the appointed day (2 June 2014), Hyderabad in the existing State of Andhra Pradesh, shall be the common capital of the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh for such period not exceeding ten years. After the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (1), Hyderabad shall be the capital of the State of Telangana and there shall be a new capital for the State of Andhra Pradesh."

During this 10-year-long period, Andhra Pradesh operated its administration and assembly proceedings from Hyderabad until it established its own capital city. Under the agreement, certain sections of the Secretariat complex and various buildings in Hyderabad were allocated to Andhra Pradesh for administrative purposes.

Similarly, the Lake View Guest House, situated near Raj Bhavan at Somajiguda, was designated as the camp office for the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.

However, over time, the Andhra Pradesh government vacated most of the premises in Hyderabad, including those within the state secretariat, handing them over to Telangana. Currently, only three buildings—the Hermitage official building complex at Adarsh Nagar, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) building at Lakdi-ka-pool, and the Lake View Guest House—remain under the control of the Andhra Pradesh government.

Earlier, in an announcement, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in preparation for Hyderabad's new status, directed its officials to reclaim buildings in Hyderabad that were previously allotted to Andhra Pradesh, including the Lake View guest house.

Despite this planned transition, unresolved issues particularly concerning the bifurcation of assets, persist between the two states. These issues were slated for discussion in a Telangana cabinet meeting, which was postponed due to the Election Commission's restrictions related to the Lok Sabha election model code of conduct.

Currently, Andhra Pradesh has not yet established its permanent capital amid ongoing disputes over Amaravati and Visakhapatnam still pending in courts. During his bid for the Lok Sabha, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy indicated that if he remains in power, he will name Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Amaravati as the legislative seat, and Kurnool as the judicial capital.