Amaravati amendment faces legal uncertainty

Vijayawada: An amendment to the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act-2014 (APSRA) to include Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh will happen, possibly in the ongoing session of Parliament. The resolution passed by the state assembly will be the basis for bringing an amendment to the APSRA. While the entire exercise intends to bring permanency to Amaravati – that the capital will not be changed, downsized or shifted with a change of regime – legal experts think that this will give only a reprieve to the larger problem.The amendment, according to the ruling NDA, will make Amaravati the only capital of Andhra Pradesh. It will give statutory backing to the capital city as it is being incorporated into central legislation (APSRA), which takes precedence over any attempt to change the capital by way of state legislation. However, according to legal experts, there is no bar on doing the same exercise of passing a resolution in the state assembly and amending the central legislation again, if the elected govt in the state takes a different view on the capital.G V Reddy, former TDP functionary and a practising advocate in the High Court, said that the present scheme of arrangement can only give stability to the capital for the time being. It will clip the powers of the state govt from passing legislation on the capital, and an amendment to central legislation will be mandatory to change the capital. The legislative option will remain open as Parliament can amend the law again. "To make it more formidable and enduring, the amendment has to be done by incorporating the capital designation within the Constitution of India. Amending the Constitution is not as easy as amending a law made by Parliament."Theoretically, Reddy's argument may be ideal for a more enduring solution, but practically, it may not be a viable option. The Constitution did not speak about the capital of any state, and if the designation of capital is to be done for Andhra Pradesh, it should be done for all other states, which makes the issue more complicated."A more viable solution to the problem is to develop the capital ecosystem to the extent that there is no point of return, or turning back is not an option. Once the entire capital ecosystem is in place at Amaravati, a moral obligation will be created on any govt in future, as the issue was crystallised in the state legislature and by the High Court. Also, a change of capital involves huge financial implications. In such a situation, even the courts will come to the rescue of the capital, invoking extraordinary powers under the Constitution to prevent wastage of public exchequer," said Thandava Yogesh, a practicing advocate in high court.