AP Governor cleared three State-capital Bills and CRDA Repeal Bills 2020

On July 31, 2020, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bills – 2020.

• The clearance of the decentralisation Bill facilitates the development of Amaravati, Kurnool and Visakhapatnam as the Legislative, Judicial and Executive Capitals respectively.
• On the other hand, the repeal (revoke) of the CRDA paves the way for the formation of the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority. 

About Decentralisation Bill:

The two Bills were passed only by the Legislative Assembly twice, first on January 20, 2020 and next on June 16, 2020 and were not cleared by the Legislative Council. The Council Chairman referred the two Bills to Select Committees for wider examinations but the Committees were not constituted all these months.

• On the other hand, the government sent the Bills to the Governor for his assent under Article 197 (1) and (2) of the Constitution and, after wide-ranging legal consultations; he gave his assent to the new legislation.
• Visakhapatnam will have the Raj Bhavan, the Secretariat and offices of the Heads of Departments, and Amaravati will be the seat of the Legislature. The seat of all State judicial institutions established under the State legislation will be located in Kurnool.

About CRDA Act:

The CRDA Act was enacted on December 22, 2014 for the development of the state capital post-bifurcation with a specific area demarcated as the capital region. Now that the YSR Congress government decided to have three capitals for the state, the CRDA Act is being repealed.

Recent Related News:

On June 16, 2020, Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Buggana Rajendranath presented the AP state budget for Rs 2.24 lakh crore for the FY20-21. With this, AP became the first Indian state to convene its Legislative Assembly and Council which will adopt a budget for FY21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from this, AP Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan addressed the Assembly through video conference, which is also another first for the country.

About Andhra Pradesh:
Chief Minister- Jagan Mohan Reddy
State Tree- Neem tree
State Flower- Jasmine
State Animal- Blackbuck
State Bird- Rose-ringed parrot