Amaravati: High Court posts capitals Bill to Aug 6

Nelapadu (Amaravati): The division bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheswari and Justice B Krishna Mohan directed the state government to file a counter affidavit by August 6 after hearing the appeal of former MLA and TDP leader Tenali Sravan Kumar. The full bench of the High Court would hear the public interest litigation (PIL) on August, the Chief Justice said.

Sravan Kumar urged the High Court to cancel the reports of G N Rao Committee and the High Power Committee basing on which three capitals were proposed by the state government.

During the hearing on Thursday, the division bench directed the government to submit a counter affidavit on the objections raised by the petitioner.

Speaking to The Hans India, High Court advocate Karumanchi Indraneel Babu, on behalf of Sravan Kumar, explained that the government was not supposed to take the GN Rao's committee report into consideration. He said the government in its GO RT 585 obligated duty to the G N Rao to review the developmental plans initiated so far. It was asked to suggest a comprehensive plan for development of the state, including the capital city.

The government constituted five-member GN Rao committee with experts in architecture and planning. But, the architecture and planning experts gave an expert opinion on the state's economy and the administration and suggested trifurcation of the capital city, Indraneel explained. The High Power Committee which was supposed to scrap GN Rao's committee report, carried it forward, he added.

Even then, the government is contradicting itself by shifting the administrative capital to Visakhapatnam in the name of decentralised development. If the administrative capital would be shifted to Visakhapatnam, then the entire wealth concentration will be in that city only, he said.