Rise in annuity among Andhra sops to farmers for Amaravati expansion ph-2

The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday offered a series of sops, including enhanced annuity payment and waiver of crop loans up to ₹1.5 lakh, to farmers of Amaravati, who give away their lands for the second phase of land pooling as part of the expansion of capital city region, people familiar with the development said.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced these sops at a meeting with the farmers of Tadikonda and Pedakurapadu constituencies at his Undavalli residence on Friday night. “The meeting went on beyond midnight and after listening to the demands of the farmers, the chief minister agreed to some of their demands,” an official of AP capital region development authority said.

An official statement from the chief minister’s office said under the agreed terms, the state government would increase the annuity payment from ₹30,000 per acre per year paid to the farmers in the phase-I of land pooling, to ₹40,000 per acre per year.

“This annuity will be paid to farmers for a period of 10 years. Additionally, the government will increase the annuity by ₹3,000 every year. The chief minister also approved waiver of agricultural loans up to ₹1.5 lakh per farmer,” the statement said.

Under the second phase of land pooling, the state government proposes to acquire 16,666.57 acres for developing key capital infrastructure, including the proposed railway station, sports city, airport, smart city, and the inner ring road.

According to municipal administration minister P Narayana, the APCRDA has identified seven villages where land pooling and acquisition will be undertaken: Vaikunthapuram: 3,361 acres; Pedamadduru: 1,145 acres; Endroyi: 2,166 acres; Karlapudi: 2,944 acres; Vaddamanu: 1,913 acres; Harishchandrapuram: 2,418 acres; and Pedaparimi: 6,513 acres.

In the first phase of land pooling in 2015-16, the Naidu government acquired 34,000 acres under the land pooling system. Now with the proposed acquisition of another 16,666 acres, the total land contributed by farmers for the capital city would be an estimated 50,000 acres.

When combined with assigned government lands, the total extent intended for acquisition in the second phase adds up to 20,494 acres.

The official statement said Naidu urged farmers to cooperate with the second phase of land pooling, stating that the Centre was extending full support and that construction of Amaravati was progressing rapidly.

Emphasising his commitment, the chief minister said he had taken responsibility for building a world-class capital city and called upon farmers to act as “brand ambassadors” of Amaravati.

Drawing a comparison with Hyderabad’s transformation, he said land values there had risen from lakhs to crores and expressed confidence that Amaravati would witness even greater growth. He also recalled that legal backing had been secured to ensure the capital faces no future hurdles.

Around 70 farmers from the capital region participated in the meeting and raised demands including annuity enhancement and loan waiver.