Despite objections from his own cabinet colleagues, particularly from deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had his final say in the acquisition of more land for the expansion of Amaravati capital city.
On Friday, the state cabinet, chaired by Naidu, approved the launch of the second phase of land pooling for Amaravati, which aims to acquire an additional 16,000 acres from farmers in the villages surrounding the capital region.
Pawan Kalyan and other Jana Sena Party ministers remained silent during the meeting, indicating that they have agreed to Naidu’s latest decision.
According to municipal administration minister P. Narayana, the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) will soon issue a fresh notification, formally initiating the next major round of land pooling.
During the first phase in 2015–16, the Naidu government acquired 34,000 acres through the land pooling system. With the proposed addition of 16,000 more acres, the total land contributed by farmers will rise to 50,000 acres.
Earlier, the state had transferred 16,000 acres of government land to the APCRDA. When combined with farmers’ contributions, the Amaravati capital region will cover 70,000 acres earmarked for development.
The APCRDA has identified seven villages where land pooling and acquisition will be undertaken: Vaikunthapuram: 3,361 acres; Pedamadduru: 1,145 acres; Endroyi: 2,166 acres; Karlapudi: 2,944 acres; Vaddamanu: 1,913 acres; Harishchandrapuram: 2,418 acres; and Pedaparimi: 6,513 acres.
Including assigned government lands, the total land to be acquired in this phase comes to 20,494 acres.
The cabinet has also approved APCRDA’s proposal to secure a ₹7,500-crore loan from NABFID (National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development).
The funds will be used exclusively for capital development works, under strict usage conditions set by APCRDA. The state government will act as the guarantor for the loan.
