Andhra Pradesh IT Minister and YSR Party Legislator Gudivada Amarnath on Monday said that chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will start running the government from the proposed executive capital Vizag in the new financial year from April 2023.
The minister said it is possible that a high court bench would be set up in Vijayawada and Vizag. The government would place the three capitals bill soon.
What prompted the move?
Amarnath said that the government properties and assets are enough to run the administration from Vizag on a temporary basis till the permanent construction should be completed. Highlighting that the capital should be in established cities and not remote areas for “selfish motives of a few people”, the minister justified that Vizag has sufficient government offices and guest houses for the proposed move.
Jagan Mohan Reddy never accepted Amaravati as capital during his stint as opposition leader and said that Vijayawada is the better for capital. He called Amaravati “a big scam” as it acquired lands from farmers at a cheaper price to get more money, and that the three capitals are inevitable.
Amarnath added: “The High Court had given the verdict on three capitals beyond its purview. We have stated that it (Vizag) was not a proper one. We have trust in the Supreme Court. We have already said that it is not proper that courts should not obstruct the decisions of the Chief Minister and Assembly.”
Speaking on the Supreme Court order which stayed the order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court directing the government and the APCRDA to complete the process of development and provide infrastructure in Amaravati capital city within six months, and given the verdict on three capitals beyond its purview, Amarnath said that it is not proper for the courts to “obstruct the decisions of the Chief Minister and Assembly”.
“The Andhra Pradesh High Court cannot be a ‘town planner’ and an ‘engineer’,” the top court said, adding that the directions issued by the high court to have overstepped the “separation of power" principle.
