End Of An Era: Hyderabad No Longer Andhra Pradesh's Capital

Hyderabad No Longer Andhra Pradesh's Capital: As of Sunday, Hyderabad will no longer serve as the common capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, raising uncertainty about the future of buildings allocated to Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad.

According to Section 5 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad was designated as the common capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for up to 10 years starting from June 2, 2014. After this 10-year period, Hyderabad would exclusively become the capital of Telangana.

Andhra Pradesh's Use of Hyderabad Facilities

During these 10 years, Andhra Pradesh was able to conduct its administration and assembly proceedings from Hyderabad until it established its own capital city. As part of the agreement, a section of the Secretariat complex and several buildings in Hyderabad were allocated to Andhra Pradesh for administrative purposes. Additionally, the Lake View Guest House near Raj Bhavan at Somajiguda was designated as the camp office for the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.

End Of An Era: Hyderabad No Longer Andhra Pradesh's Capital | Unsplash

Relocation to Amaravati

For about a year following the bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh's administration operated from Hyderabad. However, the then-chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu decided to build a new capital in Amaravati, finding it inconvenient to administer from a neighbouring state despite the 10-year provision. Before the completion of the new capital, Naidu moved the administration to Vijayawada and parts of Guntur. Within a year, a new state secretariat was constructed in Velagapudi, Amaravati, where the administrative setup was relocated. The state assembly and, later, the high court also moved to Amaravati.

Over time, the Andhra Pradesh government vacated most of its allotted buildings in Hyderabad, including those in the state secretariat, and returned them to Telangana. Currently, only three buildings¡ªHermitage official building complex at Adarsh Nagar, the crime investigation department (CID) building at Lakdi-ka-pool, and the Lake View guest house¡ªremain under Andhra Pradesh's control.

With Hyderabad becoming the sole capital of Telangana from Sunday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed officials at a May 15 review meeting to take over the buildings allocated to Andhra Pradesh during the 10-year period.

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Andhra Pradesh's Request for Extension

A senior official in the Telangana secretariat said that the Andhra Pradesh government recently requested permission from Telangana to retain these three buildings for one more year until permanent accommodations can be arranged in Andhra Pradesh. They even offered to pay rent starting June 2.

However, the Revanth Reddy government has yet to respond to this request due to the upcoming elections. The issue was expected to be discussed at the May 20 state cabinet meeting, but the Election Commission of India (ECI) advised against discussing inter-state matters during the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

A decision may be made by the Revanth Reddy government after the MCC is lifted on June 6, depending on which government will be formed in Andhra Pradesh.

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