The Andhra Pradesh government is fast-tracking the second phase of land pooling for the expansion of Amaravati, the dream capital city. An order has been issued to acquire a total of 20,494 acres of land within the Capital Region under the provisions of the A P Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Act across seven villages.
The additional land will be earmarked for key infrastructure projects, including an International Sports City, a greenfield international airport, a new railway station and the Inner Ring Road (IRR) in Amaravati.
During its earlier term between 2014 and 2019, the N Chandrababu Naidu government had pooled nearly 34,000 acres across 29 villages to build a grand greenfield capital city named Amaravati. The latest government order for additional land pooling follows the State Cabinet’s approval of the proposal last week.
The Chief Minister has repeatedly stressed the need for more land under land pooling to build a “world-class capital”. A day before the Cabinet meeting last week, Naidu met farmers from the capital region and said that without further land acquisition, Amaravati would remain just a municipal town, far from the global city the government envisions. Farmers who attended the meeting agreed with Naidu and expressed their willingness to participate in the second phase of land pooling.
Earlier, the CRDA Commissioner had placed the proposal for the second phase of land pooling before the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to examine land allocation in the CRDA area, seeking authorisation to initiate the Land Pooling Scheme in seven villages covering 20,494 acres in the Capital Region.
The 21st meeting of the Group of Ministers, held last month, recommended authorising the APCRDA Commissioner to launch the scheme in these seven villages. After examining the proposal, the government has now authorised the Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority to initiate the Land Pooling Scheme in the seven villages.
The project, once envisioned as a world-class greenfield metropolis, got derailed under the YSR Congress Party government between 2019-24. Now, Chandrababu Naidu is determined to get it back on track. And, he is wasting no time.
Amaravati’s revival may finally be gathering steam, but the road ahead will depend on whether the State can keep farmers reassured, engaged, and firmly on board.
Also read: Andhra clears 480 acres for Adani-Google AI data centre in Vizag
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