Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that Amaravati remains the capital city of Andhra Pradesh and the government has learnt from media reports that the State government has withdrawn a law to create three capital cities.
The Minister, during the Question Hour in the Upper House, also said the division of assets between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, can be speedily undertaken with mutual agreement and the Centre can only act as a coordinating agency. Responding to BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao’s query on “confusion” over the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, the Minister said the State government has the right to take a decision on creating a capital city.
Mr. Rai said that the Union Home Secretary has held 26 rounds of meetings to resolve the issues between the two States.
“Union Home Secretary held a meeting on January 12 through video conference with the Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana along with representatives from various Ministries/Departments concerned, to review the progress of implementation of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. A large number of provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act have been implemented and remaining provisions are at various stages of implementation,” he said in a written reply to a question by member T.G. Venkatesh.
“There are certain issues which require mutual agreement of the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Continuous efforts are made to build consensus between the two States to resolve bilateral issues amicably,” the reply said.
