Days after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that he would shift his office to Visakhapatnam soon, state Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath said that the concept of three capitals was “some sort of miscommunication.” On Tuesday, February 14, addressing the Bengaluru Industry Meet event held under the Andhra Pradesh government’s roadshow to attract investors to the Global Investors Summit to be held in Vizag in March, Buggana stressed that the state government plans to carry out administration in Vizag as it was the “best suited” place. He added that Kurnool is “not the capital per se”, but will have the principal bench of the High Court.
“This three capitals is some sort of miscommunication. Administration will be done from Vizag. Why we have chosen Vizag as the administrative capital is, in the present state of Andhra Pradesh post reorganisation, this is the place that is best suited with existing infrastructure… Because of the port city that it is, its cosmopolitan nature and climate, Visakhapatnam we feel is the best suited [to be the state capital],” Buggana said at the event. “The other one is not the capital per se, it will basically have the court,” he said.
Referring to the Sribagh Pact of 1937 which spoke about development in the Rayalaseema region, Buggana went on to say that Kurnool will have the principal bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, similar to the way Karnataka High Court has benches in Dharwad and Kalaburagi. “For the legislature, how you have one session in Belgaum…one session of the legislature will be held in Guntur. This addresses to a large extent the sub-regional aspirations in the present state of Andhra Pradesh,” he added.
Earlier on January 31, CM Jagan had said at a preparatory meeting for the Global Investors Summit that the state capital would soon be shifted to Visakhapatnam. He also said he would be shifting his office to the city in the coming months.
After proposing to have three capitals in Andhra Pradesh in December 2019, the YSRCP government in November 2021 repealed the controversial AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act meant to establish three capitals. Jagan had said at the time that his government would bring them back in a new form.
Later in March last year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered the state government to develop Amaravati as the state’s capital within six months, and directed it to continue development activities in the region which had been halted after the YSRCP came to power. The YSRCP government then moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s verdict.