Declaration of "Amaravathi" as capital was unconstitutional: YSRCP MLA to President Kovind

YSRCP senior leader Dharmana Prasada Rao had written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, saying that declaration of "Amaravathi" as the capital was unconstitutional and violates the fundamental constitutional principles.

"The then Government of Andhra Pradesh declared "Amaravathi" as new capital without considering the recommendations of the report by the expert committee," the letter said.

"An expert committee headed by Sivaramakristna was appointed by the Government of India only to study various alternatives regarding new capital under the Andhra Pradesh Reorgzation Act 2014. The leader further claimed the declaration of Amaravati as the capital was unconstitutional and violates the fundamental constitutional principles," the letter said.

"This action of declaring "Amaravathi" as capital is unconstitutional as it violated the fundamental constitutional principle of "Justice" and "Equality of Opportunity" enshrined in our Constitution. It is also illegal as it violated the provisions of the AP Reorgzation Act 2014 and did not follow the recommendations of the expert committee," it added.

The expert committee in its report has clearly stated that "the committee does not consider a single large capital city as a feasible option available to Andhra Pradesh as of now.

Now, the Government of Andhra Pradesh following the recommendation of the expert committee is seriously thinking about revisiting the decision and appointed high-level committee to study reports of "GN Rao Committee" and "Boston Consulting Group" and considering to implement recommendations of the expert committee " Distribution of various Capital Functions" to all three regions of the State.

Citing the reason behind the three capital proposals, the leader said the proposal will boost the economic development of this backward region.

Our three North Coastal Districts and Rayalaseema Districts are very backward with the lowest GDP far below the average GDP of the state.

( With inputs from ANI )