The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday directed the state government to file an affidavit on a petition filed by Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi expressing concern that attempts were being made to shift the Andhra Pradesh secretariat from Velagapudi in Amaravathi capital region to Visakhapatnam.

The petitioner argued that that the government has unilaterally decided to shift the capital city from Amaravati to three different locations under the garb of ‘decentralisation of administration/governance’. Hearing the petition filed by Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi president Gadde Venkat Rao, the full bench headed by Chief Justice J K Maheswari and Justices A.V. Sesha Sai and M. Satyanarayana Murthy gave 10 days time to the state government to file an affidavit on the concerns raised by the petitioner.

The petitoner appealed to the court to declare the shifting of the capital as arbitrary and violative of the legally enforceable promises made by the previous government.

The AG informed the court that the state government will not shift the capital to Visakhapatnam without the passage of the Bill in the Legislature. The AG informed the court that the Bills pertaining to the shifting of the capital – AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and the AP-Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bills – were passed by the Legislative Assembly in January 2020 but referred by the Council to a select committee.

Backed with media reports, the petitioner brought to the notice of the court that YSRCP Rajya Sabha member Vijaysai Reddy’s recent statement that no power can stop the state government’s plan to make Vizag as the executive capital. “The executive capital will be set up in Vizag, whatever it takes,” Vijayasai Reddy asserted at a recent press conference.

While directing the AG to file an affidavit on the concerns raised by the petitioner over shifting of the capital, the court also directed the AG to respond on the statement made by Vijayasai Reddy.