The Andhra Pradesh government has issued official orders cancelling allotment of compensatory plots to those who had purchased ‘assigned lands’ and later gave them up under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) in the capital area of Amaravati.
Assigned lands, also known as assignment lands, are pieces of land assigned by the government to the poor. Purchase of assigned lands is illegal under the Prohibition of Transfer Act (POT) 1977. However, around the time when Amaravati was to be declared Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city, it was alleged that some political bigwigs had purchased assigned land from the poor at cheap rates in anticipation of a surge in value later.
As per the government’s land pooling scheme, those who voluntarily gave up assigned land to the AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) for the purpose of creating Amaravati were to get developed high-value residential and commercial plots in return.
Those who purchased the assigned land, thus, gave it up under the land pooing scheme and were allotted commercial and residential plots in compensation.
As per the government order dated 17 February 2016, owners of assigned land were allotted residential plots ranging between 500 sq yards and 1,000 sq yards for per acre of land returned based on the type of land -- dry or wet. Similarly, commercial plots ranging between 50 sq yards and 200 sq yards were allotted based on the land type.
{{/usCountry}}As per the government order dated 17 February 2016, owners of assigned land were allotted residential plots ranging between 500 sq yards and 1,000 sq yards for per acre of land returned based on the type of land -- dry or wet. Similarly, commercial plots ranging between 50 sq yards and 200 sq yards were allotted based on the land type.
{{/usCountry}}However, the Andhra cabinet last week passed a resolution allotting residential and commercial plots to the people to whom the land was originally assigned and not to those who purchased them.
A statement released by the government said: “The Cabinet has approved the proposal to cancel residential and commercial plots given to those who purchased assigned land in the capital region and then gave it under LPS as it violates the AP Assigned Lands (prohibition of transfers) Act, 1977. The plot allotments made as per the government order (MS 41) dated February 17, 2016, stand cancelled. Residential and commercial plots will be given to the actual people to whom the land was assigned.”