HYDERABAD: Ten years to the day when Telangana and Andhra Pradesh became two separate states, Hyderabad will no longer be the common capital for both.
As per the provisions of the Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad technically served as common capital for both the states since June 2, 2014.
In 1956, after Andhra and Telangana regions were united and Andhra Pradesh came into being, Hyderabad was declared the capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh, retaining that position until June 2, 2014.
Section 5 of APRA-2014 says: “From the appointed day, that is June 2, 2014, Hyderabad shall be the common capital for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for such period not exceeding ten years.” The section also states that after the expiry of the said period, Hyderabad shall be the capital of Telangana and there shall be a new capital for Andhra Pradesh.
As per the provision, the Andhra Pradesh government functioned from Telangana up to 2015. In 2015, the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu declared Amaravati as the capital of the residuary state. Soon after, most of the offices of the AP government, including the Secretariat, shifted to Amaravati.
As of now, the AP government is using only three buildings in Hyderabad — the Lake View guesthouse, the police building in Lakdikapul and the Hermitage Building in Adarshnagar — which are in its possession.
Recently, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed officials to take over the buildings allotted to Andhra.
Sources said that the Andhra Pradesh government has urged Telangana to give those buildings for rent or lease. However, the Telangana government has not made any decision in this regard due to the election code being in place, the sources added.