2019–2024 Amaravati protests | |||
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Date | 18 December 2019 – ongoing (4 years, 147 days total) [1] | ||
Location | |||
Caused by |
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Goals |
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Methods | Protestors: demonstrations , dharna , hunger strike , general strike , picketing , sloganeering , satyagraha , hashtag activism Authorities: arrests by police, Riot police , vandalism , lathi charge, mass arrest , house arrest, transport restrictions, imposing ban on assembly ( Section 144 ) [11] | ||
Status | Ongoing protests in accordance with the restrictions due to pandemic situation. [12] Previously:
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Concessions |
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Parties | |||
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Lead figures | |||
Deaths, injuries and arrests | |||
Death(s) | 58 [31] [32] | ||
Injuries | Around 200 [33] [34] | ||
Arrested | 200+ [35] |
The 2019–2024 Amaravati protests, simply known as Amaravati protests, are ongoing demonstrations in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh triggered by the idea of changing the one capital of Amaravati already identified and developed partially, to three capitals of Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. This led to concerns that the decision would create chaos and insecurity for farmers who gave their fertile agricultural lands to the government in 29 villages of Guntur district. The protests began in Mandadam, Thullur, Uddandarayunipalem on 18 December 2019. In a few days, the protests spread across Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, in Andhra Pradesh. [36] On 17 December 2020, series of events were done to mark the protests' anniversary. [37]
The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region boasts of one of the oldest habitations in India, going back at least two millennia, and is associated with historic dynasties like Satavahanas and cities such as Dhanyakataka. [38] The last government, wanted to capitalize this region into world-class capital city and wanted to promote glory, rich culture, historical and religional treasure of Andhra Pradesh. [39] It was designed by the Singaporean company, with the masterplan being prepared by two Singapore government appointed consultants and other international consultants in association with both governments in order to develop India's Singapore. [40] [41]
The foundation stone was laid for Amaravati, by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Former Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and the Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has laid foundation stone for Andhra Pradesh High Court at Amaravati. [42] [43] However, the Capital city was planned in rich fertile coastal plains on the banks of Krishna River; about 60 km from Bay of Bengal and said to be designed to have 51% of green spaces and 10% of water bodies. Thus, the new riverfront capital took away eminently cultivable land from farmers. [44] For the first time in India, the farmers of Guntur and Krishna districts had given 33,000 acres of land, to the Government of Andhra Pradesh on land pooling for Amaravati. [45] [46] [47] It had tied up around Rs 17,500 crore with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation, World Bank, Andhra Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and planned to raise the balance through public-private partnerships, investments, bonds, lease rental discounting also, it had estimated a budget of over Rs 1 lakh crore for the greenfield capital city. [48] [49] The Government of India, has granted only 2,500 crore and further promised to grant more in future. [50] [51] But, the present government had stopped major projects and contracts backed by APCRDA and Andhra Pradesh Development Corporation Limited (ADCL), stating that the previous government has committed Abuse of information, Insider trading on several properties in Amaravati. [52] [53] Many construction works and road works at amaravati have come to a grinding halt, even as those undertaken by private companies continue albeit slowly, as the government had appointed several committees for review. [54]
In July 2019, the World bank dropped the $300 million Amaravati capital project, and released statement that says "India withdrawn request for financing Amaravati project." [55] [56] [57] After the World bank, Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has also withdrawn $200 million funding for the Amaravati capital city project and leds the state government into financial crisis for construction of Amaravati. [58] [59] [60]
In November 2019, the Singapore consortium comprising Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp withdrew from the capital city startup area project, after the state government decided not to proceed with the project owing to its other priorities. [61] [62] On building the capital city at Amaravati, Urban development minister Botsa Satyanarayana had said: "Our priority is not to build London or Paris. It is not our priority and not in our capacity also. It is not possible for us to build" and had stated that the Amaravati region was not conducive for building a greenfield capital city and that it was prone to floods. [63] [64] Citing the financial condition of Andhra Pradesh due to the economic slowdown and alleged misdeeds of the previous regime, Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath had expressed inability to continue work on several large projects of Amaravati conceived by the previous government. [65] [66]
In December 2019, Chief minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy announced that the Andhra Pradesh would have three capitals namely as Amaravati in Coastal Andhra as the legislative capital with the state assembly, Visakhapatnam in Uttarandhra as the administrative capital with the state secretariat and Kurnool in Rayalaseema as the judicial capital with the high court. [67] [68] This threw everybody into confusion, including foreign investors who had hedged their bets on the swift development of Amaravati. [69] The farmers, residents of APCR have condemned the comments and dragged into protests against the government. [36] [70] [71]
The act has been challenged in Andhra Pradesh High Court, which ordered to maintain status quo until the court completes its hearing. The government, led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, withdrew the act, when the high court hearing reached the final stage. The chief minister, however, said his government would bring a better and more complete bill. [72]
The protesters under the banner of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi (APS) and Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Amaravati received support from all the political parties barring the ruling YCP when they held their long marches across Andhra Pradesh seeking support for their agitation. [73]
On 5 March 2022, High court ruled that the government can not abandon development of Amaravati as capital city after farmers parted with 33,000 acres of land against the agreement with APCRDA to develop it as the capital city and ₹15,000 crore was sunk in it over development expenditure. It asked the government to develop Amaravati within six months. [74] When the government appealed in the Supreme court, it got a stay on the judgement regarding developing the city within six months. Supreme court posted the case to 11 July, 2023 for hearing. [75]
Meanwhile, Jaganmohan Reddy announced that Visakhapatnam will become the new capital when he addressed a meeting on 31 January 2023, relating to an upcoming investment summit in Vizag. [76]
Amaravati farmers took to the streets with the announcement of Chief minister Jagan's capital decentralization. Reactionary protests were held as well across the Guntur and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh. They are protesting on the road with cans of pesticides and have erred in moving the Secretariat and High Court from the already all-encompassing Amaravati. [118] Farmers are demanding that the entire administration of government to stay where it is.
Andhra Pradesh is a state in the southern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state with an area of 162,970 km2 (62,920 sq mi) and the tenth-most populous state with 49,577,103 inhabitants. It shares borders with Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the Bay of Bengal. It has the second-longest coastline in India at about 974 km (605 mi). After existence as Andhra State and unified Andhra Pradesh, the state took its present form on 2 June 2014, when the new state of Telangana was formed through bifurcation. Amaravati is the capital of the state, with the largest city being Visakhapatnam. Water sharing disputes and asset division with Telangana are not yet resolved. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India used by the majority of people, is the first official language.
Nara Chandrababu Naidu, also known as Chandrababu Naidu or CBN, is an Indian politician and the current leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He also served as Chief Minister from 1995 to 2004 and as opposition leader from 2004 to 2014 of Andhra Pradesh. He has been the president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) since 1995.
The Politics of Andhra Pradesh take place in the context of a bicameral parliamentary system within the Constitutional framework of India. The main parties in the state are the YSR Congress Party, Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party. Other parties that have small presence in the state include the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties.
The recorded history of Andhra Pradesh, one of the 28 states of 21st-century India, begins in the Vedic period. It is mentioned in Sanskrit epics such as the Aitareya Brahmana. Its sixth-century BCE incarnation Assaka lay between the Godavari and Krishna Rivers, one of sixteen mahajanapadas. The Satavahanas succeeded them, built Amaravati, and reached a zenith under Gautamiputra Satakarni.
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The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, commonly known as the Telangana Act, is an Act of Indian Parliament that split the state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh state, as an outcome of the Telangana movement. The Act defined the boundaries of the two states, determined how the assets and liabilities were to be divided, and laid out the status of Hyderabad as the permanent capital of new Telangana state and temporary capital of the Andhra Pradesh state.
Jana Sena or Jana Sena Party (JSP) is an Indian political party based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by Telugu film star Pawan Kalyan on 14 March 2014.
The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority, Amaravati, ACT No. 27 of 2020. It was notified on 31 July 2020 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as per The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020, it replaced the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014. The authority has a jurisdictional area of 8,352.69 km2, covering the districts of Guntur, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Palnadu, and Bapatla.
Amaravati is the greenfield capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated at the heart of the state, on the right bank of the river Krishna in Guntur district. It is near to Dharanikota, the ancient city site nearby, that served as the capital of Satavahana dynasty more than 2,200 years ago.
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Andhra Pradesh, retrospectively referred to as United Andhra Pradesh, Undivided Andhra Pradesh or Ummadi Andhra Pradesh, was a state in India formed by States Reorganisation Act, 1956 with Hyderabad as its capital and was reorganised by Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The state was made up of three distinct cultural regions of Telangana, Rayalaseema, and Coastal Andhra. Before the 1956 reorganisation, Telangana had been part of Hyderabad State ruled by Nizam of Hyderabad, whereas Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra had been part of Andhra State, formerly a part of Madras Presidency ruled by British India.
The Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 is an act of Andhra Pradesh Legislature aimed at the decentralisation of governance in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The bill was proposed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to establish three capitals at different places in the state namely Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Kurnool, which will serve as executive, legislative and judicial capitals respectively.
Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, commonly known by his initials RK, is an Indian politician from Andhra Pradesh. He is former Member of Legislative Assembly, he represented Mangalagiri Assembly constituency as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative assembly from 2014 to 11 December 2023.
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