The Central government on Wednesday reiterated that it has no role in the State’s decision on the capital city and it was not consulted by the State at the time of framing of the AP Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020.
“The subject matter purely concerns the State government and the Central government has no role to play,” Lalita T. Hedaoo, Under-Secretary of Union Ministry of Home Affairs, stated in a counter-affidavit submitted in response to a petition filed by Done Sambasiva Rao and others in the High Court against the AP CRDA Repeal Act.
Sequence of events
Ms. Hedaoo said the Central government had set up an expert committee under the chairmanship of K.C. Sivaramakrishnan in 2014 to study the alternatives for a new capital of AP as per the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 (APRA).
Subsequently, the AP government notified Amaravati as the capital city in April 2015.
The Central government was supposed to extend special financial support under Section 94 of the APRA for the creation of essential infrastructure in Amaravati.
Through the Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, the AP government provided for three seats of governance — legislative, judicial and executive capitals in Amaravati, Kurnool and Visakhapatnam respectively.
However, the Central government has nothing to do with the decision on the capital city, Ms. Hedaoo clarified.
