In News
- Recently, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly unanimously passed a Bill to repeal two laws that were cleared to set up three different state capitals.
About Three- capitals
- On July 31 the state government notified the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Act, 2020.
- The government had earlier hinted A.P. could have three capitals —
- Executive capital in Visakhapatnam,
- Legislative capital in Amaravati and
- Judiciary capital in Kurnool.
Image Courtesy: IE
Need for three capitals
- Three capitals ensure equal development of different regions of the state.
- Decentralisation has been the central theme in recommendations of all major committees that were set up to suggest a suitable location for the capital of Andhra Pradesh. These include Justice B N Srikrishna Committee, K Sivaramakrishnan Committee, G N Rao Committee etc.
Reasons for Repealment
- Protest by people:
- Over a hundred petitions challenging the government’s move have been filed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
- Farmers of Amaravati, who let the government acquire their lands, wanted them to stick to the previous plan and build a world-class capital city in the same location.
- Plug loopholes:
- A “better” and more “comprehensive” Bill should be introduced after plugging the loopholes in the previous one.
- Better resort available:
- Choosing Amaravati as the capital was wrong, as it lacked basic infrastructures, such as roads and drainage systems.
- Huge Fund Required:
- Rs 1 lakh crore was required to build just that, which may escalate to Rs 5 or 6 lakh crore in 10 years.
Benefits
- Promotes Decentralisation:
- According to the government, decentralisation was the central theme in recommendations of all major committees that were set up to suggest a suitable location for the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
- Asymmetric Federalism:
- It restores Asymmetric Federalism – accommodates diversity not only between states but also within states.
- Boost to growth:
- Three new large cities would boost the growth of the state, having multiple capitals spreads the economic growth in diverse channels by building multiple growth poles.
- Prevents Migration:
- This shall reduce the migration of the people towards one large capital city, instead it may provide three different destinations, making it a viable and sustainable urbanization.
Disadvantages with 3 Capitals of Andhra Pradesh
- Huge Financial Costs:
- Large amount of funding will be required to develop multiple capitals and to ensure smooth functioning of these capitals.
- Travel Inconvenience:
- The Amaravati-Kurnool distance is 370 km. The time and costs of travel will be significant.
- Not Required:
- The Assembly meets only after gaps of several months, and government Ministers, officers, and staff can simply go to Amaravati when required.
- Establishing Coordination:
- Coordinating between seats of legislature and executive in separate cities will be easier said than done, and with the government offering no specifics of a plan, officers and common people alike fear a logistics nightmare.
- Disinterested World Agencies:
- The World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) pulled out of the project to fund Amaravati’s development is a lesson to learn from.
- A single large capital may attract more investors than three small capital cities.
- Other Problems:
- It involves issues like land acquisition, which is already a problem in the newly developed capital of Amaravati.
- The district level imbalance would still exist. (Amaravati in the south coastal AP, Visakhapatnam in north coastal Andhra and Kurnool in Rayalaseema region.)
Examples of Multiple Capitals
- India:
- Maharashtra has two capitals– Mumbai and Nagpur (which holds the winter session of the state assembly).
- Himachal Pradesh has capitals at Shimla and Dharamshala (winter).
- The former state of Jammu & Kashmir had Srinagar and Jammu (winter) as capitals.
- Global:
- In Sri Lanka,
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the official capital and seat of the national legislature,
- Colombo is the de facto seat of national executive and judicial bodies.
- Republic of South Africa has three capitals:
- Pretoria, the administrative capital;
- Cape Town, the legislative capital and
- Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.
- In Malaysia:
- Kuala Lumpur is official and royal capital and seat of national legislature, and
- Putrajaya is the administrative centre and seat of the national judiciary.
- In Sri Lanka,
Conclusion
- It is still not clear if the government will stick to Amaravati as the sole capital.
- There is an urgent need for decentralization for equitable development of all regions.
