In his first term as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh—meaning after the state bifurcation, when he became CM for the first time—Chandrababu Naidu showed a world of colours regarding the Amaravati capital. He never stepped down from the Singapore range. Not just Singapore, he brought the names of Istanbul and many other countries and major cities into the publicity. They kept saying that such a capital would be built in Andhra Pradesh. For various reasons, his first term ended with only temporary buildings. Farmers who had given lands for the capital, along with those who bought houses, apartments, and lands there believing that this would be the capital, faced many hardships until recently. As everyone knows, during his five-year tenure, Jagan completely set aside the Amaravati capital and adopted the slogan of three capitals.
After the TDP-led alliance government came back to power for the second time, Amaravati regained momentum. With loans given by the Centre and other financial institutions, tenders were already invited for works worth thousands of crores. Even then, there are still many unresolved issues related to the farmers who had given land for the capital. To address these matters, a committee was recently formed with Municipal Administration Minister Narayana, Union Minister Pemmashani Chandrasekhar, and local MLA Sravan Kumar. On Thursday, Chandrababu Naidu himself met with the capital region farmers. His comments in this meeting gained importance. Chandrababu, who always mentioned Singapore and other countries, this time said something different—he stated that the 28 villages are not enough if Amaravati needs to be developed like Hyderabad. Otherwise, it will remain just a municipality, he said.
What is strange here is that with the same villages and the same land, Chandrababu in his first term mentioned Singapore along with globally renowned cities; but now he is saying that more land is needed if Amaravati has to develop like Hyderabad. A few days ago, the government already revealed its intentions. It is known that the government proposed to acquire nearly another 40,000 acres in total for Amaravati, including for a Greenfield International Airport, a Sports City, and green industries. Minister Narayana had earlier stated that the Greenfield International Airport alone would require 5,000 acres, and that projects like the Sports City and green industries would each require 2,500 acres. On Thursday, during the meeting with farmers, Chandrababu said that he would resolve all the issues of the farmers and that he needed the support of farmers for the decisions he would make.
He said he has affection and gratitude toward the farmers who gave their lands for the capital. He stated that within the next three years, all the buildings in Amaravati would be completed, and that MLAs, public representatives, and officials would all reside and work in Amaravati. He said that during the agitation, many JACs were formed, and now all farmers should come together and form an organisation named Amaravati Development Association. Chandrababu reiterated that he has full commitment toward the development and future of Amaravati farmers, and that he has the responsibility to ensure justice for them. TDP leaders are saying that since full justice has still not been done to the farmers who initially gave land for the capital, some farmers are not willing to give land now for the new capital expansion. We need to see how the government will handle this issue in the coming days.