AP CM Jagan announced in the state assembly that the existing bills on 3 capitals are withdrawn by the government and soon the government will come up with the new bill. Details as follows
It is known news that former CM Chandrababu naidu attempted to build Amaravati as the world class capital for the residual state of AP. But after Jagan became the chief minister, he tilted towards the decentralisation of the development, brought forward the concept 3 capitals and repealed CRDA introduced by CBN. But now, Jagan announced in the assembly about taking back the bills introduced by his government.
Jagan’s statement:
Jagan explained in detail about why his government preferred 3 capitals instead of single super capitals like Hyderabad after coming to power. He added that the decision was taken to decentralise the development in state and to ensure all regions, castes and religions will reap the benefits of the state. He also spoke about Sribagh pact (1937) that guaranteed the fruits of development for the Rayalaseema region and how the assurances given in that agreement were diluted later. After giving the historical perspective of the issue of the capital of AP, he moved on to explain why his government is withdrawing the bills.
Jagan admitted that, while taking decision to implement 3 capitals, all the stake holders were not consulted. He also added that the existing bill is not comprehensive and so there are legal issues in implementing 3 capitals. He also spoke of the ongoing propaganda that the 3 capital decision was taken to hurt the prospects of certain social groups.
Then he announced that his government is still committed to the decentralised development of the state and so the government will come up with a better bill to ensure development in all the regions of the state.
Missing items in the Jagan statement:
Jagan’s announcement came as a surprise to the people of AP. Though his statement clarified that he is not in favour of single super capital, he did not clarify whether he will again come with a bill for 3 capitals or a single capital with separate plan for decentralisation of development.
Secondly, he did not pronounce any time line for coming up with a new bill. This will again lead to uncertainty as the government can dilly-dally till the next elections.
Thirdly, Jagan told that the government will have wider consultations now before coming up with a new bill. But he did not state whether a committee will be formed again to decide the question of capital of AP or the government itself will have discussions with pressure groups.
Overall, Jagan’s statement in the assembly led to confusion among the people of AP regarding the capital of the state. We need to wait and see when and how this issue will be resolved completely.
