What Happened
- Parliament passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, formally recognising Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh.
- Lok Sabha passed the Bill on April 1, 2026 by voice vote; Rajya Sabha followed suit, completing parliamentary approval.
- The Bill was introduced by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and received strong support from TDP, BJP, and JSP members.
- The YSRCP (YSR Congress Party) opposed the Bill, with its MPs staging a walkout from Parliament.
- The law grants retrospective effect from June 2, 2024 — the date the TDP-led coalition returned to power in Andhra Pradesh.
- The legislation effectively ends any future legal or political scope for altering the capital city decision.
Static Topic Bridges
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 and the Capital Question
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bifurcated the erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh into two states: Telangana and the residual Andhra Pradesh. The Act designated Hyderabad as the common capital of both states for a transitional period not exceeding ten years, after which it would become the exclusive capital of Telangana, requiring the residual Andhra Pradesh to establish a new capital.
- The Act was passed in Lok Sabha on February 18, 2014 and in Rajya Sabha on February 20, 2014; it received Presidential assent on March 1, 2014.
- The Act mandated the Central Government to constitute an expert committee within six months to recommend sites for the new Andhra Pradesh capital.
- The Sivaramakrishnan Committee (2014) recommended against a single greenfield capital, proposing a distributed model instead — which was not accepted by the then AP government.
- A special category status for Andhra Pradesh, promised during bifurcation, remained a persistent political demand that was never fully honoured.
Connection to this news: The 2014 Act left the new capital question unresolved beyond the transitional arrangement — the 2026 Amendment fills this gap by giving parliamentary recognition to Amaravati, resolving a decade-long political controversy.
Amaravati: The Capital City Project and the Three-Capital Controversy
Amaravati is a planned greenfield capital city being built on the banks of the Krishna River in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP government under N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the project in 2015, with farmers voluntarily pooling approximately 33,000 acres of fertile agricultural land. The subsequent YSRCP government under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy attempted to shift to a three-capital model — with Amaravati as the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, and Kurnool as the judicial capital.
- The three-capital proposal was introduced through the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 but was subsequently repealed in 2022 after legal and political challenges.
- Land pooling under the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) involved over 29,000 farmers who gave land in exchange for reconstituted plots in the capital area.
- Singapore-based companies Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development partnered as master planners and investors for Amaravati's development.
- The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) had approved loans for Amaravati infrastructure development, but disbursement stalled during the three-capital controversy.
Connection to this news: The parliamentary amendment gives constitutional-legislative finality to Amaravati's status — it cannot be undone by a future state government through ordinary legislation, insulating the capital decision from political flux.
Article 3 and Parliament's Power to Reorganise States
Under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, Parliament has the exclusive power to form new states, alter state boundaries, change the names of states, and — by extension through enabling legislation — deal with matters consequential to state reorganisation including capital city designations. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 was enacted under this power, and the 2026 Amendment follows the same legal route.
- Article 3 requires a Bill to be introduced only on the recommendation of the President and that the President must refer it to the concerned state legislature(s) for their views (though Parliament is not bound by those views).
- The 2026 Amendment amends the 2014 Act to insert a provision formally naming Amaravati as the capital — something the original Act left open.
- Retrospective effect from June 2, 2024 means all state government actions in designating Amaravati as capital since that date are retrospectively validated.
- The Bill's passage signals that capital city questions for states created or reorganised under central legislation require parliamentary action for finality — they cannot be resolved by state law alone.
Connection to this news: The use of Parliament's Article 3 powers to permanently settle the capital question demonstrates how central legislation can override or foreclose state-level executive and legislative discretion on matters flowing from a central reorganisation Act.
Key Facts & Data
- Bill name: The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
- Lok Sabha passage: April 1, 2026 (voice vote).
- Rajya Sabha passage: April 2-3, 2026 (voice vote).
- Retrospective effect: June 2, 2024 (date of TDP-led government assuming office in AP).
- The 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act gave Hyderabad as common capital for up to 10 years.
- Amaravati is located in Guntur district on the banks of the Krishna River.
- Land pooling for Amaravati: approximately 33,000 acres contributed by farmers under APCRDA.
- Three-capital Act of 2020 was repealed in 2022.
- The YSRCP staged a walkout in Parliament opposing the Bill.