“The only capital of AP is Amaravati. We have examined this issue thoroughly and have come to the firm determination to continue it as the state capital. In this context, we have decided to develop Amaravati by following the legal promise to be fulfilled by the farmers who gave lands for the construction of the capital under the Master plan and land consolidation,” the Government of Andhra Pradesh has asserted in the Supreme Court.
It has made it clear that the construction of the capital, the development of the Amaravati area, and the returnable plots to the farmers who gave lands will be completed within three years with all kinds of infrastructure. It has been revealed that it will abide by the judgment given by the AP High Court on the state capital and the orders issued by the Supreme Court. Therefore, keeping in mind the interests of justice, the government has sought to conclude the hearing on the SLP currently before the court.
The AP government has submitted a 16-page affidavit to the Supreme Court in the name of Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, as the hearing of the cases related to the capital issue comes up before a bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday. The government has told the Supreme Court that it is committed to developing Amaravati as the sole capital of AP in all respects.
It has been revealed that it has decided to develop the capital by following the legally binding promise to the farmers who were given lands for the construction of the capital under the master plan and land consolidation. The affidavit to this effect was filed on Wednesday.
It mentioned that the state government enacted the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act in 2014 and established the APCRDA. The Act was published in the Gazette on December 30, 2014 with the assent of the Governor. GO MS No. 254 was issued on December 30, 2014, identifying an area of 53,748 acres across 24 revenue villages along the Krishna River between Guntur and Vijayawada as the capital city area.
As per Section 3(3) of the Act, a total area of 122 sq km was declared as the capital area. Later, in GO MS No. 141 issued on June 9, 2015, the capital area was revised from 122 sq km to 217 sq km. The full-scale master plan was published on February 23, 2016, as per Section 39 of the Act. In that master plan, the AP government gave some assurances.