VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Commissioner Kanna Babu has informed the High Court that the land pooling process for acquiring 59 acres in Azzampudi village for the expansion of Gannavaram Airport in Krishna district is still at a preliminary stage on Thursday.
The Commissioner has further submitted that the APCRDA does not currently have possession of the said 59 acres and that final approval for pooling these lands has not yet been granted by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department Principal Secretary or the CRDA Commissioner. He added that the process is presently at the stage of verification of land ownership rights.
The Commissioner made these submissions while filing a preliminary counter in a petition filed by Mannam Krishnamurthy and three others, who alleged that the APCRDA and the State government had failed to pay annual lease amounts for lands belonging to them in Azzampudi village, which they claim were given for the Gannavaram Airport.
He further explained that a notification was issued in 2015 to pool 837 acres of land across the villages of Azzampudi, Chinna Avutapalli, Allapuram, Buddavaram and Kesarapalli for the airport expansion. However, 432 plot owners from Allapuram and Buddavaram villages initially refused to part with their plots, demanding alternative plots in nearby areas.
Subsequently, the government considered land pooling as a solution and issued a notification. While the process was still in its initial stages, the plot owners, who had earlier refused, later agreed to offer their lands under the land pooling scheme. In this context, the CRDA meeting is yet to decide whether the additional 59 acres need to be pooled or not.
Seeking time to file a detailed counter with complete information, the CRDA Commissioner requested an extension from the court.