The proposed amendment aims to modify the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, which currently provides for the creation of a new capital for Andhra Pradesh without specifying a location. It will replace the existing phrase “there shall be a new capital” with “Amaravati shall be the new capital.”
This follows a resolution passed by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on March 28, asking the Centre to grant legal status to Amaravati. The resolution also called for adding the words “at Amaravati” in Section 5(2) of the Act. Section 5 earlier designated Hyderabad as the common capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for a period not exceeding 10 years after bifurcation.
The Assembly also proposed that Amaravati be defined to include areas notified under the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014, in line with a High Court order dated March 3, 2022.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said Amaravati is the only capital and the decision will not change.
Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated in 2014 under the same Act, which created Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad was made the capital of Telangana and served as the joint capital for both states for up to 10 years, during which Andhra Pradesh was expected to establish its own capital.
The law also laid out the division of assets, liabilities, and administrative structures between the two states. Amaravati was later identified by the Andhra Pradesh government in 2015 as the site for the new capital.
The issue of the state capital has remained contentious in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government proposed a three-capital model.
Under this plan, Amaravati was to serve as the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, and Kurnool as the judicial capital. The plan faced protests, especially from farmers in Amaravati who had pooled land for a unified capital.
