State Government Sends Clarification to the Center
The AP government requested the Centre to amend Section 5(2) of the Bifurcation Act and declare Amaravati as the state capital with effect from June 2, 2024. Upon receiving the request, the Union Home Ministry, in a letter dated 1st of this month, has sought clarification on implementing the date of implementation.
The clarification from the Chief Secretary came in writing. He sought an inclusion of Amaravati "formally under S.5(2) of the Act to make it the capital with effect from June 2, 2024." As per the Bifurcation Act, Hyderabad was to continue as the joint capital for ten years. According to that, Amaravati should get the status after the completion of that tenure, the state government contended.
It is learnt that the Union Home Ministry will prepare a cabinet note and move it forward. According to reports, the Cabinet is likely to clear the amendment before the end of December. The amendment Bill is likely to be introduced during the budget session in February next.
Pemmasani Says Amendment Can't Be Prevented
- Recognising Amaravati as the capital, the amendment bill cannot be stopped or delayed, said Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandrasekhar. Though the process may take some more time, Parliament will pass the bill and issue a gazette notification, he added.
- Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, he said former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy made negative remarks about the Amaravati bill in his statement. As he said, Jagan questioned if capital status should be applied from 2014 or from 2024. Pemmasani added that if it is not passed in this session, the bill will be brought in future sessions.
- He further noted that the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had recently laid the foundation stone for the construction of 16 national institutions in Amaravati. Works are in progress at the Central Secretariat, International Convention Center, CAG office, Postal Department Regional Office, Central Schools, Railway Line, and Outer Ring Road. An expenditure of about ₹3,000 crore was being incurred on the facilities, while ₹2,500 crore was being spent exclusively on the development of Amaravati. Pemmasani added that thousands of workers are now engaged with the construction activities day in and day out. He said that in the case of the ESI Hospital within the Guntur Lok Sabha constituency, the staff had to knock on the doors of various departments several times, while he himself met with ministers five times. He said that this was one small example of how much coordination was needed between the Center and state to build a major urban center. Pemmasani said that Jagan did not complete a single major capital project even in five years. He said that completion of at least one such project would have given him an idea how cumbersome big ticket development was.
