Hyderabad, No Longer the Capital of Andhra Pradesh! But Why?
From 2nd June 2024 onwards, Hyderabad has ceased to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh. It is now only the capital of Telangana. Watch this video to know why?
Hyderabad, one of India’s bustling and emerging metropolitan cities, is no longer the capital of Andhra Pradesh as of 2nd June 2024. This change comes after a decade-long arrangement where Hyderabad served as the joint capital for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
To understand this change, we need to look at the history. The Telangana region was part of the Hyderabad state from 17th September 1948 to 1st November 1956. In 1956, it merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh. After years of demands and movements for a separate state, Andhra Pradesh was divided into two states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, on 2nd June 2014. At the time of separation, Hyderabad was made the capital of both states.
According to Section 5(2) of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganization Bill, Hyderabad was to be the joint capital for 10 years. After this period, Hyderabad would become the sole capital of Telangana. The bill also stated that Andhra Pradesh would establish a new capital after this 10-year period.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has directed officials to reclaim all buildings in Hyderabad that were allotted to Andhra Pradesh for the 10-year period, including the famous Lake View government guest house.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh has not yet established a permanent capital due to ongoing disputes over Amaravati and Visakhapatnam, which are still pending in court. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had previously announced plans to designate Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital, and Kurnool as the judicial capital. However, with Chandrababu Naidu now winning the election, it remains to be seen what his decision will be.
Despite the decade-long period, many issues, including the division of assets, remain unresolved between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Telangana government attempted to discuss these bifurcation issues at a cabinet meeting last month, but the Election Commission allegedly stopped this due to the code of conduct for Lok Sabha polls.
