Pawan Kalyan's Silence on Amaravati Expansion Raises Eyebrows

After coming to power, has Jana Sena chief and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan stopped thinking independently? Is he thinking, “We are already in power, so why risk losing it by expressing personal opinions”? These are the doubts now being raised among everyone. This is because, when in the opposition, Pawan Kalyan strongly criticized the proposal to acquire 33,000 acres for the capital Amaravati. He voiced numerous arguments against it. But ever since coming to power, there has been complete silence. He is now facing criticism that he is acting like a yes-man to whatever Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu says. The same Pawan Kalyan, who once questioned why 33,000 acres were needed for the capital, is now silent even though a decision has been made to acquire another 44,000 acres under the land pooling system for Amaravati expansion. This silence is raising many suspicions. It is known that this decision was made during the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu on Tuesday. Not just on the issue of land, but also on Amaravati contracts and power projects—despite the coalition government irresponsibly awarding projects worth thousands of crores only to selected companies—Pawan Kalyan has not uttered a single word.

In fact, he is saying that their coalition government will remain in power for another 15 to 20 years and that no one can create divisions among them. At one time, Pawan Kalyan severely opposed the idea of acquiring such large tracts of land for the capital. Just a few days ago, Jana Sena minister Nadendla Manohar, while speaking to farmers, sparked wide speculation that another 44,000 acres were being acquired for the development of the capital region. He said that farmers were deeply worried and that such suspicions and misconceptions should be dismissed. They announced that the coalition government has not taken any new decision on land acquisition. They stated that their current focus is entirely on the development of the already acquired 33,000 acres. Even though some suggested acquiring land for future needs, the Chief Minister has not made any decision or given any orders, they said.

But cutting to the scene—during the cabinet meeting held on June 24, an official decision was taken on this matter. Now the question is, will Pawan Kalyan or Nadendla Manohar care about the farmers' concerns, or will they just agree with whatever Chandrababu says and move forward?. In the past, Chandrababu never mentioned Amaravati expansion. He announced that a master plan for Amaravati had been prepared in collaboration with experts from India and abroad. Another key point is that with Singapore companies withdrawing from the Amaravati startup area project, the 1,691 acres allocated for that purpose have also come back under government control. But the Chandrababu government, without ever previously mentioning it, is now preparing to take another 44,000 acres of land from farmers under the name of an expansion project. Now, to complete the Amaravati project, they are borrowing thousands of crores from the World Bank and other financial institutions. It remains to be seen how much it will cost to develop the newly acquired land and when it will actually be developed. Moreover, sources say that close aides and benamis (proxies) of key figures in the government have already amassed large land banks in areas likely to be allotted for key projects including the airport. There is a widespread buzz that these proxies include people associated with top leaders in key positions.