HYDERABAD: Giving a cold shoulder to deputy chief minister KE Krishna Murthy, who holds the revenue portfolio, the Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday issued formal orders for the formation of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on land pooling to obtain required land for the new capital city near Vijayawada.
Apart from finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and municipal administration minister P Narayana, agriculture minister Prathipati Pulla Rao, irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, IT minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy and social welfare minister Ravela Kishore Babu are the members in the GoM.
Principal secretary of municipal administration will be the member-convener of the GoM, whereas principal secretaries of revenue, finance and law departments are other members of the panel.
The committee has been formed to formulate an action plan for acquiring land by adopting land pooling system. However, the government’s decision to ignore KE Krishna Murthy who is looking after the revenue department which will play a key role in finalising the government’s policy with regard to land pooling, has raised eyebrows in TDP circles.
Krishna Murthy had earlier openly opposed his government’s plan to locate even the temporary capital at Vijayawada by hurling caustic remarks at his ministerial colleague P Narayana, a diehard supporter of the decision to set up the capital at Vijayawada.
According to one argument, Krishna Murthy voluntarily opted out of the GoM as he is against the government’s choice of locating the capital at Vijayawada, instead of in Rayalaseema.
Another argument is that the chief minister himself preferred not to include his deputy bowing to the pressure from other ministers in the panel.