If the recommendations of the six-member experts committee headed by retired IAS officer G N Rao become a reality, the chapter of Amaravati, the grandiose capital of Andhra Pradesh as visualised by Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is more or less closed.
YSR Congress president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced in the state assembly that Visakhapantam could be the executive capital of the state with secretariat and other office complexes, Kurnool would be a judicial capital with full-fledged high court and Amaravati would continue as the legislative capital with the assembly complex remaining as it is.
However, the G N Rao committee came up with a plan to divide even the legislative capital and also judicial capitals.
It suggested that the summer session of the state assembly could be held in Visakhapatnam and monsoon session in Kurnool, because the climate in Amaravati would be too hot in summer and it would be flooding there during monsoon.
So, the legislative assembly complex at Amaravati would be used only for winter session, which will run for a maximum period of 7-10 days, as happened during the recently concluded session. So, for all practical purposes, there will be virtually no activity in Amaravati.
Though the committee suggested that the chief minister’s office and Raj Bhavan could be continued in Amaravati, they hardly have any functioning there, as the entire activity will be only in Visakhapatnam.
Interestingly, the committee also divided the judiciary. It said the high court could be at Kurnool, but it will have two separate benches – one at Amaravati for the south coastal Andhra and the second one at Visakhapatnam for north-coastal Andhra.
So, the concept of high court at Kurnool also has lost its purpose as it will deal with only Rayalaseema cases and it can be more or less a Rayalaseema bench, instead of a full-fledged high court.
For all practical purposes, it will be Visakhapatnam which will be full-fledged capital with Secretariat, CM office, all the other departmental offices, assembly for summer session and a high court bench!
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