2,500 Acres To Be Acquired In Phases For Amaravati Capital Needs

: The problems faced by farmers in the Amaravati capital region were reviewed by the Amaravati Three-Member Committee at a high-level meeting held in Guntur on Saturday. Union minister of state for rural development and communications Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar chaired the meeting along with municipal administration minister P. Narayana and Tadikonda MLA Tenali Sravan Kumar.

Addressing the meeting, Chandrasekhar said that the State government has given priority to resolving the long-pending problems of farmers through the committee. The problems were categorized as general and main problems and were examined item by item. He said that legal complexities regarding Lankan territory have been resolved and the way for registration has been cleared.

He said that two alternatives for road alignment in Mandadam village were examined and Option-1 was finalized based on farmers’ views and MLA’s suggestions. He added that 47 land acquisition cases are under review and most of them are nearing resolution, while the rest will be resolved within a week.

Chandrasekhar said land acquisition of around 2,500 acres will be done in phases to meet the capital’s needs. 61,793 of the total 69,421 parcels have already been registered, and the problems regarding the remaining 7,628 parcels will be resolved quickly.

Regarding Jareebu (fertile) lands, he said a special committee has been constituted to conduct soil testing and groundwater studies in about 180 acres and a report is expected within two weeks. Verification work was ongoing in about 1,600 acres of land worth more than 10 cents of Abadi (grama kantham) village. He assured that decisions regarding land plots, TDR bonds and compensations would be fair, legal and transparent without causing harm to farmers.

Narayana said improving social infrastructure in the capital region is a priority. Detailed Project Reports were being prepared for 26 villages, 12 of which were completed. He said the construction of 18 community buildings was approved with an allocation of 22.6 million.

MLA Sravan Kumar said review meetings are held with farmers every 15 days to address concerns regarding abadi lands, jareebu and non-jareebu lands and areas hit by roads. Citing a telephone survey, he said about 69 percent of farmers were willing to wait, while nine percent were looking for alternative land and others wanted more time.

He added that pensions for landless poor families, which were cut by the previous government, were reorganized and approximately 3,000 new beneficiaries benefited. While around 18,000 new beneficiaries were added to health cards, 2,000 new cards were also distributed.

Senior officials from CRDA, Revenue and Municipal Administration departments attended the meeting.