A day after the Governor of Andhra Pradesh approved the pending bills related to the trifurcation of the state capital, the state government has constituted a new agency called the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA). The AMRDA has been constituted to replace the former AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA).
A governing committee with 11 officers and headed by the Finance Secretary, AMRDA Commissioner and others, will manage the assets of CRDA.
On Friday, the Governor gave his assent to two bills -- AP Decentralisation And Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Bill, 202. The decentralisation bill allows the establishment of three capitals in different regions with varied functions, with the executive capital at Visakhapatnam, the legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool. The CRDA (Repeal) Bill paves the way to abolish the CRDA that was established under the TDP government to build the sole capital at Amaravati.
Since the YSRCP government came to power in May 2019, development works in the Amaravati region being carried out under the CRDA had been stalled. With the major functions of the government now being moved to Visakhapatnam, those who had given up their land to the CRDA (in exchange for developed plots in an urbanised capital region) have been vehemently opposed to the decentralisation of capitals.
The YSRCP government has insisted that development and urbanisation in the Amaravati -Vijayawada-Guntur region will continue in spite of the trifurcation of the capital.
The notification announcing the constitution of the AMRDA by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department states that the new agency will comprise the same area that was earlier part of the “AP Capital region” notified under the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014.
P Lakshmi Narasimham, who was earlier posted as the Commissioner of the APCRDA, has now been posted as the Metropolitan Commissionerof the AMRDA. The District Collectors of Krishna and Guntur districts will also be members of the AMRDA.
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