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Amaravati

Highcourt of AP
Highcourt of AP Image: Wikimedia Commons. iMahesh / CC BY-SA 4.0

Amaravati is a planned city on the southern bank of the Krishna River in the Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was designated as the capital of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation of the erstwhile state and the formation of Telangana in 2014. The city shares its name with the historic Buddhist site of Amaravathi nearby, which was a major centre of the ancient Satavahana dynasty.

Key facts
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
District Guntur
River Krishna
Designation Capital of Andhra Pradesh
Region Coastal Andhra
Nearest major city Vijayawada

Background

Following the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the existing capital Hyderabad was assigned as the joint capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for a transitional period, and was retained by Telangana thereafter. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, then led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, identified a stretch of land between Vijayawada and Guntur for the development of a greenfield capital. The site lies in a fertile agricultural belt and is in proximity to the historic town of Amaravathi, from which the new capital takes its name.

Planning and development

The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) was constituted to plan and develop the capital region. Land for the project was assembled largely through a land pooling scheme, under which farmers contributed land in exchange for developed plots and annuity payments. The master plan envisaged a capital city organised around government, judicial, financial, knowledge, sports, and cultural districts. Singapore-based agencies were involved in the early conceptual planning of the capital city.

Foundation

The foundation stone for the capital was laid on 22 October 2015 at Uddandarayunipalem. Construction of an interim secretariat, a temporary legislative assembly complex, and high court facilities was subsequently undertaken to allow government functions to begin operating from the new capital.

Three-capital proposal

In 2020, the state government led by Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy proposed a decentralised model with three capitals: Amaravati as the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, and Kurnool as the judicial capital. The proposal led to prolonged legal challenges and protests by farmers who had contributed land to the original Amaravati project. Subsequent legislative and judicial proceedings resulted in shifts in the policy, and the status of capital arrangements has remained a subject of political debate in the state.

Geography

Amaravati is situated in the Krishna River basin in the Coastal Andhra region. The capital region encompasses parts of the Guntur and Krishna districts and is connected to Vijayawada and Guntur through road and rail networks. The Vijayawada Airport at Gannavaram is the nearest commercial airport.

Historical Amaravathi

The name of the capital is drawn from the historic town of Amaravathi, located a short distance upriver. The site is known for the Amaravati Stupa, an important monument of early Buddhist architecture associated with the Satavahana period, and for the Amareswara Temple dedicated to Shiva, considered one of the Pancharama Kshetras.

Significance

Amaravati is significant as the political and administrative centre planned for Andhra Pradesh after the loss of Hyderabad to Telangana. The project drew attention as one of India's largest greenfield capital initiatives and as a notable application of the land pooling model for urban land assembly.

References