The shifting of Andhra Pradesh’s capital is likely to materialise very soon, with the government asking employees of the Secretariat to move from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam in the month of May.
At an Executive Committee meeting held on Wednesday, employees were told that the government would ease the process of shifting, by offering support in finding accommodation and schools.
The announcement comes even as several petitions challenging the YSRCP government’s move to set up three capitals with different functions -- the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool -- are pending in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
While the government had stated that the decision was made in the interest of decentralised administration and development, Visakhapatnam is likely to be the primary capital of the state.
Apart from various administrative departments which are part of the secretariat, the Chief Minister’s Office is also expected to shift to Visakhapatnam by May.
The secretariat employees have been informed that they will be provided support in looking for house sites, in obtaining admissions in schools in Visakhapatnam, and transfers for spouses who are government or bank employees.
It was also mentioned that those who bought houses or house sites in Visakhapatnam between 2015 and 2019 will be provided interest-free loans, while those who have not bought a house or house site in Amaravati will be given special loans. Shifting allowance and transport facility will also be provided.
Ever since the proposal to shift the capital was announced by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy in December, farmers and landowners from the 29 villages comprising the capital region of Amaravati have been protesting against the decision.
Many of the protesters had contributed their land -- some of which was under cultivation -- for the development of Amaravati as the new capital. In return, the previous TDP government had promised to give them plots of land whose prices were expected to rise exponentially once the capital was developed. The protests have continued in various Amaravati villages for three months now.
The next hearing of the petitions challenging the shifting of the capital has been posted to March, where the state and Central governments have been asked to file their counters.