VISAKHAPATNAM: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will start operating from Visakhapatnam from April next year, Minister for IT and Industries Gudivada Amarnath announced on Monday.
“I cannot say whether the State administration will start operating from April 1, but it is certain that we will start functioning from Vizag from the next academic year,” the Minister asserted.
He was speaking after the Supreme Court stayed the high court’s orders directing the government to develop Amaravati capital city in six months. Responding to the verdict, Amarnath said they would go ahead with the plan of decentralised development as it is the policy of the government and Chief Minister.
“We are expecting more positive outcomes and are hopeful of clearing all the hurdles,” he maintained.
Stating that the government had proposed the judicial capital at Kurnool, Amarnath said the same would be informed to the Supreme Court. “Jagan is also considering requesting the apex court to set up high court benches at Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada,” he added.
High Court ordered govt to hand over plots to landowners in 3 months
The high court had also directed for handing over of the developed and reconstituted plots belonging to landowners in Amaravati's capital region within three months. The court had also said that the State Assembly had no “legislative competence” for passing any resolution or law for a change of capital or bifurcating or trifurcating the capital city. The HC had thus effectively preempted the State’s move to revive its ‘three-capitals’ proposal.
Appearing for the State of AP, Senior Advocate KK Venugopal contended that nothing survived in the issue since the State government had withdrawn the two legislations that were challenged in the HC while the arguments were going on. He further added that the high court could not have directed the executive to pass such a law. “Courts can’t go into a purely academic issue,” he had argued.
Also for the State, Senior Advocate Niranjan Reddy had said that as the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act was repealed, the old Act would come into implementation. To persuade the bench to not issue the notice as well as grant interim relief, advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the farmers who had agreed to pool their lands, said the State had collected more than 33,000 acres from over 29,000 farmers.
“They have to go back to the HC and tell about a realistic time frame and also explain why nothing happened after May 2019. As many as 29,000 families have abandoned their livelihood,” Divan further added. The State government in its petition before the apex court has argued that the HC’s judgement was violative of the doctrine of separation of powers.