The new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati, is all set to get legal backing from the Centre soon.
This is to ensure that Amaravati continues to remain the capital forever for AP irrespective of whichever party comes to power in AP later.
AP government sources said AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu impressed upon the NDA government over according legal backing to Amaravati in the wake of Opposition leader Y S Jagan making repeated statements that if YSRCP is voted to power, he would shift AP capital city from Amaravati to a suitable location and return all the lands in Amaravati to farmers which were forcibly acquired by the AP government.
Following Naidu's request, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to have asked the union home minister Rajnath Singh to explore the possibility of amending the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, to give legal backing to Amaravati to ensure that it remains AP capital city forever.
Accordingly, the union home ministry is said to have proposed amendment to Section of AP Reorganisation Act, recognising Amaravati as capital city of AP.
The NDA government is likely to propose the amendment in the ensuing winter session of Parliament set to begin soon. Once passed, the Centre will notify the exact boundaries of the capital region Amaravati, which cannot be altered by any government in future.
Except for the purpose of expansion of the capital city, no other changes in boundaries will be allowed under this legal framework.
