Politics over Amaravati benefits none, but will take a heavy toll on AP State
The issue of the Amaravati Greenfield capital came to the fore once again in Andhra Pradesh. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by TDP supremo and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is trying to get a legal status to the new capital through a legislative framework in parliament. Reports indicate that a bill to this effect may be introduced in the upcoming Budget session of parliament.
Incidentally, Naidu finalised the location of the new Amaravati capital way back in September 2014, within three months after coming power in the capital-less residual Andhra Pradesh post the bifurcation of the united AP that saw Hyderabad capital going to newly created Telangana state. Within four months of the declaration of the location, farmers in the area came forward to offer more than 30,000 acres of land under the land pooling scheme, Naidu broke the ground for the new capital in June 2015, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone five months later. With such rapid developments on the new capital city front, many expected the government to achieve significant progress in the capital construction before the 2019 General Elections. But that did not happen as Naidu opted for temporary Secretariat buildings, buying more time to construct an iconic main seat of power. However, the capital works came to a grinding halt after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy defeated Naidu in the 2019 polls, came to power and opted for three capitals instead of one with Visakhapatnam as the executive capital. Jagan did not drop his plans even after farmers in Amaravati went on a prolonged agitation.
Quite often, politicians don’t relish the task of continuing major projects started by their predecessors and rivals after coming to power. Did this attitude come into play regarding Amaravati when Jagan Mohan Reddy was in power? However, the three-capitals plan also hit roadblocks and Jagan Mohan Reddy lost power in a stifling defeat before he could do anything worthwhile on his capitals’ plan. That way, he squandered a golden opportunity to build a capital city for Andhra Pradesh. As a result, the AP people’s dream of having their own capital turned sour yet again. But it was not the first time though.
As I wrote in this column in early 2020, the capital city remains an unfinished dream of Andhra and Rayalaseema people for decades.
The capital issue cropped up as far back as 1937 when leaders from both regions signed the Sri Bagh pact in Chennai (then Madras). Sri Bagh was the residence of Andhra Patrika founder Kashinathuni Nageshwara Rao, where the agreement was signed. That was the time when a demand for a separate Andhra state was gaining some traction. As Andhra and Rayalaseema regions were part of the then Madras Presidency, people from these two Telugu regions wanted an identity of their own. The agreement envisaged that in the event of the separate Andhra state being formed, the High Court and capital city should be divided between the two regions. But the then British government opposed the new state proposal.
However, three years after India gained Independence, Potti Sreeramulu, a freedom fighter from Nellore district, went on indefinite hunger strike on October 19, 1952, demanding separate Andhra state with Madras as its capital. He died on December 16 that year while fasting. The violent agitations post his death forced the Indian government to form Andhra state, but without Madras as capital. Consequently, as per the Sri Bagh pact, Kurnool in Rayalaseema was made the capital for Andhra state while the High Court went to Guntur. But Kurnool did not last long as the capital as Andhra state was merged with Telangana to form Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad as the capital in 1956.
However, the division of Andhra Pradesh nearly 60 years later in 2014 rendered Andhra and Rayalaseema capital-less again. From Chennai to Kurnool to Hyderabad to Amaravati to Jagan’s plan of three capitals, the capital city dreams of Seemandhra people have made a long journey indeed.
With Naidu’s TDP winning again in 2024 in alliance with BJP and Jan Sena, the capital buck stopped at Amaravati yet again. This time, Naidu seems to be treading carefully. His government succeeded in raising decent funds for the construction of the Greenfield capital. After a request from farmers who gave away land under the land pool scheme, his government convinced the Centre to bring in a law to provide legal protection to the new capital. This is obviously aimed at preventing anyone from arbitrarily shifting the capital city location in future.
If the law comes through, it will infuse confidence among investors and others who will invest in the Amaravati area in one form or the other. The capital construction works also began.
Meanwhile, the state government launched the Land Pooling Scheme 2.0 recently to acquire additional 20,500 acres, including 16,600 acres of private land, for infrastructure projects like sports city and Greenfield international airport. But the state government should speed up capital works and complete core infra, including Secretariat, Assembly and other iconic buildings fast. It should also bring in large-scale private investments into the capital city region to generate employment opportunities. Without new employment opportunities, Amaravati is unlikely to grow into a city with economies of scale and transform itself into a growth engine for AP. That’s the reality. But with many investments going into the Visakhapatnam region, is it possible for the government to attract investments into the new capital area as well?
Of course, there is also criticism from some quarters that a particular caste is a dominant force in the new capital. Given its importance for people of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati needs apolitical treatment. There is nothing wrong in highlighting discrepancies and irregularities in construction works. But opposing Amaravati capital will take the state nowhere. Furthermore, caste dynamics will change as the new capital develops. For instance, Muslims were the dominant force in Hyderabad for many years. But Hyderabad emerged as a true metropolitan city in the last few decades. That happens with every city and Amaravati is no different.
The bottom line is simple and straight. Politics over the Amaravati Greenfield capital benefits no one but will surely hit the State very hard in the long run. For, Andhra Pradesh as a state needs a capital city of its own. And it is high time to let the capital city dream of AP people come true at the earliest.
