Amaravati gets statutory status as AP capital

Amaravati has received statutory status as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh with the Government of India issuing a gazette notification on Monday.

This followed after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was passed by the Parliament last week.

As per the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2026, shall be deemed to have come into force on June 2, 2024.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2026, amended the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

In the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, in section 5 (2), the words “and there shall be a new capital” have been replaced with “and Amaravati shall be the new capital”.

The expression “Amaravati” includes the capital city areas notified under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014, reads the explanation of the Act.

The Parliament on April 2 gave its final approval to the Amendment Bill, officially designating Amaravati.

The Rajya Sabha passed the bill through a voice vote, a day after the Lok Sabha cleared it.

The enactment has ended years of uncertainty and political flip-flops over the capital issue that arose after the 2014 bifurcation of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. It effectively rules out any future attempts to alter the capital’s status or revive the previous three-capital model.

A total of 35 MPs in both Houses participated in the debate on the bill. Barring two MPs of the YSR Congress Party, all the MPs supported it.

YSRCP opposed the bill on the grounds that it failed to address the concerns of farmers, who gave their lands for the development of the state capital.

The foundation for Amaravati as the state capital was laid in 2015 when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was in power. However, after YSRCP came to power in 2019, it stopped all the projects in Amaravati and mooted the idea of three capitals.

After the TDP-led NDA stormed to power in 2024, it decided to develop Amaravati as the only capital. The works were re-launched last year.