VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President YS Sharmila Reddy on Friday accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of turning the Amaravati capital project into a ‘real estate business’ through the proposed second phase of land acquisition.
She criticised the government’s plan to acquire 40,000 more acres of land, questioning why the 33,000 acres acquired in 2015 remain undeveloped. Sharmila highlighted the lack of progress since PM Modi’s foundation laying in 2015 in Amaravati, with only weeds to show for it. She questioned the need for a new 5,000-acre airport when Gannavaram airport lacks international flights, and operates only ATR aircraft.
She argued that the Centre, under the AP Reorganisation Act, should fund the capital, not the State through private and World Bank loans. Sharmila demanded that Naidu leverage his political influence to get funds from Modi instead of ‘slavish devotion’.
She noted that 29,000 farmers who gave land, and 23,000 landless families await justice, while tenders worth Rs 53,000 crore raise concern of irregularities.