Even as the Andhra Pradesh government is expediting works on the capital city of Amaravati and is hoping to complete majority of the works in the next three years, the legal hurdle continues to haunt the farmers who had surrendered land for the development of Amaravati capital.
Apart from other issues, the farmers have been demanding a statutory status to the capital city which is possible only if the Central government brings a legislation in Parliament formally recognising Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
During the recent interactions with the farmers, APCRDA officials briefed farmers on their efforts in New Delhi, indicating that an Amaravati-related bill may be introduced in Parliament during the December session.
Responding to queries on the gazette notification, the APCRDA Commissioner said that no capital city in India — including Hyderabad — has ever been notified through a gazette, and questioned the necessity of such a step for Amaravati.
Farmers countered this by citing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, which explicitly mentioned Hyderabad as the capital for 10 years, arguing that a gazette was required for clarity.
Officials informed them that the matter was taken up with the Union Home Ministry, which agreed in principle to issue a gazette, but the Law Ministry raised certain objections that are currently being addressed.
The APCRDA also updated farmers on land pooling layout plans, stating that some small parcels left out while constructing approach roads would be redesigned to allow farmers to build commercial establishments.
When farmers expressed concern that boundary stones marking their allotted plots were missing, the Commissioner clarified that these would be installed after completion of development works, as placing them now could lead to damage.
With the government signalling readiness to move the Amaravati bill in Parliament, anticipation is growing among farmers about when the capital’s legal status will be formally restored.
