The Supreme Court has declined a request from the Andhra Pradesh government to stay the high court order from March 2020 that directed the state to develop Amaravati as the capital within six months. The court stated that it will hear the request alongside other petitions linked to the issue on July 11. The Andhra Pradesh government had planned to shift the state capital to Visakhapatnam from July, while the high court order would require the government to continue developing Amaravati. The development of Amaravati as the capital had been a priority of the previous government, with thousands of acres of land acquired and plans drawn up, despite funding challenges.
The Andhra Pradesh government under Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged a large-scale real estate scam in land acquisition and plans for a new capital at Amaravati and subsequently scrapped the AP Capital Region Development Authority. The government passed a new law announcing decentralisation and the establishment of three capitals: a judicial capital at Kurnool, a legislative capital at Amaravati, and an executive capital at Vizag.
However, this move ran into legal trouble, and the government withdrew the decentralisation bill and cancelled the APCRDA in November. Multiple petitions were filed by farmers challenging the scrapping of the CRDA Act, which was passed by the previous government for developing a grand capital at Amaravati, and for which they had contributed land. The Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled in favor of Amaravati farmers in March 2022, asking for the capital to be built at Amaravati as per the master plan given in the Capital Region Development Authority Act, within six months. The state government went to the Supreme Court, and the case will be heard on July 11, 2023, along with other petitions linked to the issue.
