ANDHRA PRADESH NEW CAPITAL

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• The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has announced that Visakhapatnam (also known as Vizag) will be the new capital of the State.
• The Chief Minister has highlighted that the state needs a new capital since Hyderabad, the capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh is now part of Telangana, and at present, the two states are sharing the capital temporarily.
  • On 2nd June 2014, some area from the northwestern part of Andhra Pradesh was separated to create ‘Telangana’ as the 29th state of India.
• Earlier the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh announced the development of 3 capitals for the state;
  • Amaravati as the state legislative capital.
  • Visakhapatnam as the state executive capital.
  • Kurnool as the state judicial capital.
• The state legislative assembly also passed the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, which provided for three different capitals for the state.
  • However, the state government’s plan ran into difficulties because hundreds of farmers who had given up their land for the development of the capital city at Amaravati have filed petitions in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, challenging the government’s decentralization decision.
• Due to legal difficulties, the state government decided to scrap the decentralization law. However, the state government continues to promote the decentralization plan.

Visakhapatnam:

• It is the largest and most populous city in Andhra Pradesh.
• It is located between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
• It is the second-largest city on the east coast of India after Chennai.
• Visakhapatnam was an ancient Port city that had trade relations with the Middle East and Rome.
  • European powers established trade operations in the city, and by the end of the 18th century, it had come under French colonial rule. Control passed to the East India Company in 1804 and it remained under British colonial rule until Indian independence in 1947.
• Visakhapatnam serves as the headquarters for the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command.
• The city is also known as the "City of Destiny" and the "Jewel of the East Coast".

Must Read: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/stalemate-between-telangana-andhra-pradesh

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-politics/visakhapatnam-aps-capital-what-happens-to-amaravati-and-the-3-capitals-plan-8415874/