Amaravati notified as Andhra Pradesh capital 12 years after bifurcation

The notification will apply retrospectively from June 2, 2024, as per the gazette.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu took to X to share the news.

The capital of Andhra Pradesh is Amaravati.

#APThanksIndia#APThanksModiJi #HistoricAmaravatiResolution pic.twitter.com/W4TocOw8nQ

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) April 7, 2026

The decision has come 12 years after the bifurcation of the erstwhile united stated into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014.

While the state government had already notified Amaravati as the capital on April 23, 2016, it received legal status from the Centre with the notification of the latest Act. The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution on March 28, 2026, urging the Centre to amend Section 5(2) of the Act to grant the formal legal recognition to Amaravati as the capital of the state.

Last week, Parliament cleared the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, with the Rajya Sabha giving its approval after it was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha. The legislation amended the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and granted statutory recognition to Amaravati as the state’s only capital.

The original 2014 Act had provided for the creation of a new capital after the bifurcation of the state.

Earlier during the debate, the Congress slammed the 12-year delay in formally declaring Amaravati as the capital, calling it a major failure of both Parliament and the Centre. While backing Amaravati, the party had said said commitments made in Parliament were not acted upon in time, prolonging uncertainty in the state.

Part of the delay was the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s proposal in 2019 to develop three capitals, with Visakhapatnam as the executive capital and Amaravati and Kurnool as judicial capitals. The plan later failed.