E-Paper
Jagan govt plans to sell Amaravati lands, farmers protest move
A senior official of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority said the state government had, last week, given a green signal to the authority to sell different land parcels in Amaravati capital region through e-auction in July to raise funds for taking up various pending works.
Farmers of Amaravati are up in arms against the Andhra Pradesh government headed by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for its latest proposal to sell about 248.34 acres of land in Amaravati to raise funds for completing pending works in the present capital region.
A senior official of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) said the state government had, last week, given a green signal to the authority to sell different land parcels in Amaravati capital region through e-auction in July to raise funds for taking up various pending works.
“As the state high court in its judgement on March 3 ordered that the all pending works in Amaravati be completed within six months, the government is trying all means to raise funds for the same. The decision to sell the lands through auction to raise funds has been taken as part of the resource mobilisation efforts,” the official said.
Out of these 248.34 acres, around 100 acres were allotted to B R Shetty Medicity and the remaining 148.34 acres were given to Indo-UK Institute of Health (IUIH) to set up a medical institute, both at Dondapadu village in Amaravati in 2017 itself. However, both the institutes did not make any progress despite reminders and finally the land allotments were cancelled, after the YSR Congress party came to power in 2019.
“Though the guidelines for the auction are yet to be finalised, according to our information, the APCRDA has tentatively fixed an upset price of ₹10 crore per acre for these lands. Thus, the government wants to raise a minimum of ₹2,480 crore from the auction. We shall get some clarity in a couple of days,” an Amaravati joint action committee leader K Anil Kumar said.
He said the farmers were upset because the lands are meant for development of world-class institutions and not for real estate purposes. “It clearly shows the government is planning to kill the capital city project,” Kumar said.
The government also issued another order early this month directing APCRDA to sell 14 acres of land – 10 acres at Nowluru village and four acres at Pitchukalapalem village through e-auction to raise further funds.
“We are going only as per the high court orders to complete the pending works in Amaravati capital region. Since we need resources, the government has decided to auction the lands,” the APCRDA official quoted above said.
He pointed out that the government has clearly instructed APCRDA to open an escrow account and transfer the money raised through auction of lands into it, so that it could be utilised for taking up developmental works in Amaravati.
In the next couple of years, the government plans to sell another 600 acres of land in Amaravati through APCRDA to take up various developmental works in the capital region.
“The APCRDA has been in touch with various banks to borrow ₹3,500 crore for the capital region works. The state government has to stand guarantee for these loans,” the official said.
TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh charged the state government with destroying the Amaravati capital city by selling the lands to make money. “How can Jagan put up Amaravati lands for sale, while his party leaders described the capital region as a burial ground,” he asked.
In a statement on Sunday, Lokesh recalled how the ruling YSRCP Ministers and MLAs carried out a nefarious campaign against Amaravati. Now, the same YSRCP government is trying to sell Amaravati lands at a very high value, he criticised.
The Amaravati farmers are now preparing to challenge the government decision in the high court. “We shall wait till the government comes out with the auction notice and take a call,” the Amaravati JAC leader said.
