Pawan, Jana Sena Ministers Back Second Phase Land Pooling!
Is Jana Sena chief and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s approach simply to say okay to whatever Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu says? Earlier, Pawan Kalyan had expressed objections over the pooling of 33,000 acres from farmers for the Amaravati capital. He even questioned why so much land was required for the construction of the capital. Pawan Kalyan, who said that 33,000 acres itself was too much for the capital, is now ready to pool another 16,666 acres under the second phase of land acquisition proposed by the government for capital expansion. This proposal received approval in the cabinet meeting held on Friday. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, along with other Jana Sena ministers, participated in this meeting. The government is saying that, if needed, further land acquisition and pooling will be carried out later. The first-phase works of the Amaravati capital have not yet picked up the expected pace. Yet the cabinet approving another round of land pooling for the second phase has once again made Pawan Kalyan’s stance a topic of discussion.
A few months ago, there were reports that in a cabinet meeting, Jana Sena’s Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and another minister Nandendla Manohar raised objections over the new proposal to acquire 40,000 acres. That is why the government temporarily kept the matter aside at that time… and has now brought it back to the table. It is known that the government formed a three-man committee to look into some pending issues faced by farmers who gave their lands for Amaravati. In the past, Chandrababu never talked about Amaravati expansion projects, but after coming to power for the second time, he seems to have adopted this new tune. There is also discussion among TDP leaders that farmers who gave lands are being indirectly threatened that otherwise Amaravati will remain only a municipality. Even among TDP leaders, there are doubts about how many years the first-phase capital project will take to take shape. Despite that, now they have started a new campaign saying that a greenfield international airport will come up in 5,000 acres, a sports city in 2,500 acres, and green industries in another 2,500 acres.
When will the first phase be completed? After that, when will all these projects take off? Where are the funds for all these? These are the questions arising in the minds of many farmers. A TDP minister commented that if farmers agree, Chandrababu Naidu could even pool up to one lakh acres in the name of the capital and Pawan Kalyan and Nandendla Manohar would still say okay. Because everything is being done as per a strategy… according to a plan, he stated. Farmers gave their lands for pooling believing that a capital would bring high value to their lands. But looking at the latest developments, it is becoming unpredictable how long this will take. As a result, there is some concern among farmers as well, say reports. We will have to see how many twists this additional land pooling issue takes in the coming days.
