Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has indicated that Andhra Pradesh could have three capitals as decentralisation was a real concept. Replying to a short discussion on the state capital issue in the Assembly, he said the existing capital Amaravati - which is only in the basic stages of development - could become the legislative capital, port city Visakhapatnam the executive capital and Kurnool the judiciary capital.

The chief minister maintained that a final call on the capital would be taken only after the expert committee constituted to look into the issue submitted its report. The committee report is expected in the coming days.

Why does Jagan prefer three capitals?

The chief minister’s idea appears to be having a capital each in the three main regions of the state - Visakhapatnam, north coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kurnool in Rayalaseema.

“We may have three different capitals. South Africa has three capitals. They are required. We have to think on those lines seriously,” he said.

The previous Chandrababu Naidu government chose Amaravati as the capital out of nowhere, Jagan pointed out, adding a minimum amount of Rs 1.09 lakh crore was required to develop basic infrastructure like roads, drains and power supply.

“That much money has to be borrowed. If we add interest on that sum and also the funds needed for other development, we need at least Rs 3 lakh crore,” he said.

“I too want to build a capital but where do I get the Rs 1 lakh crore? If at all we have that money, there are many other priorities on which we need to spend,” Reddy said.

Remarking that “decentralisation is a real concept”, Jagan said there was need to “think practically”.

Indicating that the government (Secretariat and heads of departments) could shift to Visakhapatnam, the chief minister pointed out that the port city has all the required facilities.

Other states with multiple capitals

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir has two capitals. Srinagar is the summer capital and Jammu is the winter capital. There is a process called Darbar Move - a practice of bi-annual shifting of the state capital between Jammu and Srinagar.

The Darbar Move - under which the state government functions in Jammu during six winter months and in Srinagar during summer - was started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape extreme weather conditions in the two regions of the state. However, the practice was continued even after Independence with the aim of providing governance benefits to both Kashmir and Jammu regions for six months by turns.

While Jammu and Srinagar cities benefit from this practice as roads and other infrastructure get the basic minimum repairs done on an annual basis, the Darbar Move incurs expenditure of crores of rupees that could have been used for other productive activities every year.

The practice involves moving voluminous files between Jammu and Srinagar and thousands of employees between the two cities in hundreds of buses and trucks.

Maharashtra

Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra and Nagpur is the second capital. Nagpur hosts the winter session of the legislature every year while monsoon and budget sessions are held in Mumbai. As per the Nagpur Pact of 1953, which eventually led to the creation of Maharashtra, Nagpur was accorded the status of second capital. It was decided that one of the sessions of the legislature will be held in Nagpur.

Himachal Pradesh

In 2017, the then Himachal Pradesh chief minister, Virbharda Singh, announced Dharamshala as the second capital of the hill state. He said that the people of these areas would benefit from the decision and they would not be required to travel long distances to come to Shimla for official work. Dharamshala already figured prominently in national and international map due to its significance owing to many reasons, including being the abode of Tibetan spiritual head, the Dalai Lama.

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