Amaravati
Amaravati (English: /əməˈrɑːvəti/) is the greenfield capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated at the heart of the state, on the right bank of the river Krishna in Guntur district. It is near to Dharanikota, the ancient city site nearby, that served as the capital of Satavahana dynasty more than 2,200 years ago.
Amaravati | |
|---|---|
Andhra Pradesh Secretariat road | |
| Nickname: Place for immortals | |
Amaravati Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) | |
| Coordinates: 16.513100°N 80.516500°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District | Guntur district |
| Established | 30 December 2014 |
| Founded by | Government of Andhra Pradesh |
| Government | |
| • Type | Planning agencies |
| • Body | Amaravati Development Corporation Limited, APCRDA |
| Area | |
| • Capital city | 217.23 km2 (83.87 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 8,352.69 km2 (3,224.99 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 49 m (161 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Capital city | 103,000 |
| • Metro | 5,873,588 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Pincode(s) | 520 XXX, 521 XXX, 522 XXX |
| Vehicle registration | AP-7, AP-8, AP-39 |
| Official languages | Telugu |
| Website | Amaravati official website |
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The bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 resulted in the residual state having no capital city. NDA under the leadership of N. Chandrababu Naidu won the elections and formed the government. Both the government and the opposition agreed on the need for a large capital city. The opposition party led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed the location of capital city near Vijayawada. The farmers of Guntur district gave 33,000 acres of land, to the Government of Andhra Pradesh through an innovative land pooling scheme in return for developed plots and lease payments for 10 year period. After fast track completion of interim buildings, government legislature started operating from the new facilities at Velagapudi from March 2017.
The construction slowed down after the change in government in 2019. The new government led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy changed its stance on single capital city. It proposed utilising Amaravati as legislative capital, with Visakhapatnam as executive capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital. The legislation for this change was challenged in the High Court. When High Court was close to completing the hearings, the government withdrew the act while clarifying its intent to come up with a better legislation. On 5 March 2022, High Court ruled against the three capitals policy and said that the government can not abandon development of Amaravati as the capital city. Appeal against the High Court judgement is pending before the Supreme Court.