HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government is looking at acquiring one lakh acres of land for the construction of new capital in the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri(VGTM)areas. Around 25,000 acres would be acquired in the first phase. The State government would constitute a capital development authority (CDA) in a month to acquire the land.
Briefing reporters after a meeting on land acquisition for capital city with the officials at the Secretariat here on Friday, members of Group of Ministers for capital land pooling committee -- Municipal Administration Minister and chairman of State advisory committee on capital city P Narayana, IT Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Agriculture Minister Pattipati Pulla Rao and Social Welfare Minister Ravela Kishore Babu -- said the sub-committee is in favour of acquiring land through land pooling model as it would be beneficial for the farmers and individual land owners.
“It is better to acquire as much land as possible now only under land pooling system instead of going for it after the capital city is built. We want to plan the city for next 50 to 100 years,” Narayana said.
The land acquisition will be completed between six months and a year and the first phase of the capital city will be completed within three years from the date of completion of land pooling, he said.
“We are seeking more land for the capital city with the aim of developing social infrastructure. The government has no intention of making commercial gains with the land given by farmers,” Narayana said.
He said the State advisory committee on capital city has already toured and studied land pooling system implemented in Chandigarh and its extension city, Gandhinagar and Gift city and Naya Raipur where farmers were given land share between 25 per cent and 40 per cent. Land could be acquired through acquisition, negotiated purchase, pooling and town planning method, which would be a compulsory and after touring Chandigarh, Naya Raipur and Gandhinagar, the government has felt that land pooling is the best option, said Narayana.
VGTM has about 20 lakh acres of land out of which about 20,000 acres is government land but that includes water bodies and other structures. The land transaction in the VGTM areas would be stopped till the required land is acquired for the construction of the capital, Narayana said.