‘State legislature can’t split capital’: HC

Context: In a recent verdict  Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered the State government to construct and develop Amaravati as the state capital.
Key judgement by the High Court

• A three-judge Bench gave the final verdict in a case relating to writ petitions filed by landowners of Amaravati.
• The Court held that the State government did not have the powers to change the capital or remove Amaravati from being the capital of the three civic wings of the state namely the legislature, executive and judiciary.
• The Court instructed the government and the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) to perform their duties mentioned in the A.P. CRDA Act and Land Pooling Rules.
• The Court also held that the agreement signed between the farmers and the CRDA is a Development Agreement-cum-Irrevocable General Power of Attorney and it is a statutory agreement; the violation of terms and conditions by the respondents or by State and APCRDA calls for the interventions by the court.

Background

• On July 31 the state government notified the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Act, 2020.

This law paves the way for three capitals for the state.

• Amaravati– legislative capital.
• Visakhapatnam– executive capital.
• Kurnool– judicial capital.

Need for three capitals

• The government says it is against building one mega capital while neglecting other parts of the state. Three capitals ensure equal development of different regions of the state.
• Decentralisation has been the central theme in recommendations of all major committees that were set up to suggest a suitable location for the capital of Andhra Pradesh. These include Justice B N Srikrishna Committee, K Sivaramakrishnan Committee, G N Rao Committee etc.

Road Ahead

• As the Andhra Pradesh government planned to decentralize administration by proposing a three-capital plan, the High Court ruled that the State legislature lacked the legislative competence to make changes for shifting, bifurcating or trifurcating the capital.