The submission of a counter-affidavit by the Centre in the Supreme Court with regard to the Andhra Pradesh capital issue has triggered a fresh debate over the powers of the state to decide its own capital.
Though the pro-Telugu Desam Party media sought to give a different interpretation to the Centre’s affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it had endorsed only Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh and had not approved of the three capitals’ plan of the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
However, the affidavit, submitted by Shyamal Kumar Bit, working as Under Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, does nowhere say Amaravati is the only capital of Andhra Pradesh.
The affidavit was a counter to the special leave petition filed by Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, making certain charges against the Centre.
The official clearly said he was denying disputing in totality all the averments, submissions and allegations made by the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, not the AP government.
Shyamal Kumar only sough to impress upon the court that the Jagan government had not informed the Centre after passing the bill for formation three capitals and subsequently, it had withdrawn the legislation.
So as per the information available with the Centre, Amaravati is the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, as was notified by the AP government in 2015. It was for Amaravati, the Centre had provided special financial support for the creation of essential facilities in the new capital.
The facilities include Raj Bhawan, High Court, Government Secretariat, Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council and such other essential infrastructure. The Centre had released Rs 2,500 crore, including Rs 1,000 crore for creation of essential urban infrastructure for Amaravati, he said.
So, as per the counter-affidavit, the Centre acknowledges Amaravati as the capital for which it had released money. That does not mean, it has opposed the three capitals’ plan of the Jagan government. So, the question of U-turn doesn’t arise, say analysts.
The official also informed the Supreme Court that the Centre reserves the right to file further response at a later stage if the need arises. So, if the Jagan government adopts a legislation on three capitals and refers it to the Centre for notification, the centre will submit a fresh reply to the court.
It may be mentioned that the Centre had submitted an affidavit in the state high court already, stating that the location or relocation of the state capital is entirely the prerogative of the state and the centre has no role in it. So, it cannot reject the three capitals plan altogether, the analyst added.