TOPIC: General Studies 2
- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
In News: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 that intended to give shape to state government’s plan of having three capitals —
The amendments to the Bill proposed by the Opposition Telugu Desam Party were rejected by the House.
The cabinet chaired by Reddy approved
The ruling YSR Congress Party has also reportedly decided to scrap the state’s Upper House as it is miffed with the Legislative Council stalling bills.
Issue of multiple state capitals
Multiple State Capitals & Governance – The Big Picture – RSTV IAS UPSCMultiple State Capitals & Governance – The Big Picture – RSTV IAS UPSC
Rationale for three capitals
The issues associated with this
Assembly meet: The government argues that the Assembly meets only after gaps of several months, and government Ministers, officers, and staff can simply go to Amaravati when required. However, coordinating between seats of legislature and executive in separate cities will be easier said than done, and with the government offering no specifics of a plan, officers and common people alike fear a logistics nightmare.
Distance: The AP Police are headquartered in Mangalagiri, 14 km from Vijayawada, and senior IPS officers who may be required to visit the Secretariat will have to travel 400 km to Visakhapatnam. Likewise, government officers who may have to appear in the High Court will have to travel 700 km to Kurnool, which does not have an airport. All officers and Ministerial staff who may have to be at hand to brief Ministers when the Assembly is in session, will probably have to stay put in Amaravati, leaving behind their other responsibilities in Visakhapatnam.
Where else do we see this?
South Africa – Three cities serve as capitals of the country– Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). This arrangement was a result of the Second Boer War (1899-1902) in which Britain annexed the two Afrikaner speaking states -– the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (also called Transvaal Republic). Cape of Good Hope then remained in the British Empire, becoming self-governing in 1872, and uniting with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa in 1910.
Sri Lanka – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the official capital and seat of national legislature, while Colombo is the de facto seat of national executive and judicial bodies.
Malaysia – has its official and royal capital and seat of national legislature at Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya is the administrative centre and seat of national judiciary.
Maharashtra has two capitals– Mumbai and Nagpur (which holds the winter session of the state assembly).
Himachal Pradesh has capitals at Shimla and Dharamshala (winter).
The former state of Jammu & Kashmir had Srinagar and Jammu (winter) as capitals.
Connecting the Dots:
