Farmers oppose acquisition of land for Amaravati capital project

THe Andhra Pradesh regime’s challenging Amaravati working capital urban center evolution plan is facing resistance from farmers in Undavalli and Penumaka villages, who are refusing to part with their lands for the capital city under both the land pooling and land acquisition schemes.On Tuesday, farmers from the two villages, along with their counterparts from neighbouring Nidamarru, Errupalem and Kuragallu villages, met YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at his camp office in Tadepalli, seeking his support in their fight against what they described as forcible land acquisition by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).At the same time, the aggrieved farmers boycotted a gram sabha conducted by the APCRDA in Penumaka as part of the land acquisition process for Amaravati.“We have held several rounds of discussions with the farmers in the past, but they are not willing to give up their lands for Amaravati under the land pooling scheme, unlike their counterparts in other villages who voluntarily gave up their lands,” APCRDA commissioner V Vijayarama Raju said.As a result, the state government was compelled to initiate the land acquisition process through notifications issued recently, strictly in accordance with prescribed procedures, Raju said.The farmers of Undavalli and Penumaka contend that their villages are located along the Chennai-Kolkata national highway (NH-16), where land values are significantly higher than in other capital region villages.“Moreover, the lands in these villages are highly fertile and yield three crops a year. How can the government deprive us of our livelihood?” said Sridhar Reddy, a farmer from Undavalli village.He alleged that the APCRDA was attempting to acquire the lands to connect Amaravati’s Seed Access Road with the national highway.“Already, a part of my small land holding has been eroded by Krishna River. The remaining land is now falling under the proposed Seed Access Road and buffer zone, leaving me with little land for cultivation,” Sridhar Reddy said.YSRCP Mangalagiri constituency coordinator Donthireddy Vemareddy said hundreds of farming families had depended on agriculture for generations and that surrendering their limited land holdings would push them into uncertainty and financial distress.“The government is acting ‘inhumanely’ towards farmers who refused to hand over land under the second phase of land acquisition for the capital city project,” he alleged.Vemareddy claimed that in Penumaka, where the government had initiated works for a mini reservoir, agricultural lands were excavated indiscriminately up to 20 feet deep, turning them into “ponds” after recent rains.He alleged that authorities ignored adjacent lands belonging to farmers who had refused acquisition and accused the government of acting out of resentment.Addressing the farmers, Jagan assured them of legal support from the YSRCP.“Farmers who did not give their lands for the capital region are being harassed by the coalition government. It is unfair on the part of the government to forcibly acquire lands from them,” he said.Jagan reiterated that the Mavigun (Machilipatnam-Vijayawada-Guntur) capital corridor concept was more viable and already had strong infrastructure, including port, road, rail and air connectivity.“We developed the Machilipatnam port. There are railway stations at Vijayawada and Guntur, and the corridor is well connected to the national highway network,” he said.“With no basic infrastructure and with such huge costs involved, capital development in Amaravati will take a long time. The government wants the process to continue only because the inflow of kickbacks will continue simultaneously,” he alleged.The APCRDA commissioner said farmers still had an opportunity to participate in the land pooling scheme and that even those whose names figure in the recently issued land acquisition notification could opt for land pooling within the stipulated timeframe.He said plans were being prepared and implemented for the development of infrastructure facilities in Amaravati’s capital villages.“As construction works under the Amaravati development project are progressing rapidly, the farmers should cooperate with the officials,” he said.