As Andhra Pradesh develops the greenfield capital city of Amaravati on the Krishna river banks, a number of initiatives are being taken to ensure that the farmers who have parted with their land under the land pooling process get back about 10,000 acres of the 33,000 acres acquired from them, possibly by the end of the this fiscal.
Srikant Nagulapalli, Commissioner of Capital Area Region Development Authority based in Vijayawada, is busy with the arrangements for the foundation stone-laying ceremony to be held on October 22.
As he kept an eye on the workstation and dealt with the staff members seeking his attention, Nagulapalli interacted with
The State Assembly resolved on the location for the capital city on September 3, 2014 and on December 8, 2014, capital city package was announced by the Chief Minister (N Chandrababu Naidu). The AP CRDA Act was passed on December 23, and by December 30, AP CRDA was formed and the capital region of 7,317 sq km and the capital city area of 217 sq km were notified. The Land Pooling Process was notified on January 1, 2015 and by February 28, 2015 irrevocable consents received from 20,150 farmers covering 32,469 acres.
Thereafter, a number of developments have taken place and from July 14, 2015, annuity and pension payments started from the Capital Region Social Security fund. And by August, NREGA works began.
And here we are preparing for the capital city foundation-laying ceremony on October 22.
How has the process of land pooling worked out so far? And what about the villages where people currently live in?
The land pooling process went off smoothly and the consent of landowners for about 29,000 acres taken and ₹119 crore annuity payment made. There are some small farm land tracts where ownership could not be ascertained, some are assignees and in some cases they are still to give their consent. We will consider the process of land acquisition in such cases.
No one from these villages where the land pooling was done would be displaced. We cannot have a capital without people. Every village and household will remain where it is and they will become an integral part of the capital city now being developed. Our focus would be on improving the infrastructure and aligning it with the new capital services.
By when will you be able to give back the land? How much of it will be returned to the farmers?
About 10,000 acres of developed land will be returned to farmers. We have made annuity payments of ₹30,000 and ₹50,000 per acre and are disbursing monthly payment of ₹2,500 each to the families of labourers.
We expect to notify the Master Plan area soon and this will provide the details of various structures that would come up, including roads and other details. Once this is done, the excess land will be handed over to the farmers. The land parcels will be close to where they live, but subject to the Master Plan.
What will the new capital city be like?
Final touches to the master plan are under way but the broader contours have been announced. The city will be run on the basis of nine economic engines/ themes that include the government, justice, finance, and other themes. The capital will have a Central Business District and a riverfront of about 17 km and will be built on grids – roads and water. The seed capital area will be spread over 16.9 sq km. It will be well-connected to the airport and to Vijayawada and Guntur through road and will also have a metro link.
The agriculture labourers seem to be having a tough time. How are you addressing their concerns?
Landless families are getting ₹2,500 a month each and they have access to work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for 365 days a year. The education of children of such families will be taken care of and a number of people will be drafted for skill upgradation for potential jobs coming up in the region.
What about the funding issues for the capital?
The Centre provided ₹1,500 crore last year for the capital city and we expect more Central funds over the years. In addition to funding from the State’s own resources, there will be private sector contribution. Then there are a number of other finance options, which includes funding from international agencies. We don’t see funding being a major problem for the development of the new capital city.
We need about ₹50 lakh approximately for the basic development of one acre of land. A number of financial institutions have shown interest in setting up base here. For annuity and pension payments, about ₹250 crore is required annually.