VIJAYAWADA: A critical infrastructure hurdle in the capital region was removed on Saturday after the State Government formally took possession of 2.72 acres in Undavalli village for the construction of the Amaravati Seed Axis Road.
The AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) handed over the site to engineering teams, with ADCL and NCC personnel beginning round-the-clock earthwork to lay soil and gravel.
The move followed a warning by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P Narayana at an APCRDA review meeting on July 7. He stressed that while the government prioritises the voluntary Land Pooling Scheme, trunk infrastructure projects cannot be stalled indefinitely by holdouts. Narayana said statutory land acquisition would be pursued wherever resistance threatened the capital’s master plan.
The acquisition was executed under legal provisions, with compensation fixed at Rs 7.14 crore for 2.72 acres owned by 10 farmers—about Rs 2.58 crore per acre. When landowners refused the cheques on July 10, the amount was deposited with the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority. The takeover sparked political friction, with YSR Congress Party Mangalagiri in‑charge Donthireddy Vemareddy accusing the ruling coalition of “bulldozer politics.”
He alleged crops belonging to 11 small and marginal farmers were destroyed by JCBs and claimed nearly 100 police personnel were deployed to seize the land. Vemareddy further charged that the operation was timed over a weekend to deny farmers immediate legal recourse.
Despite opposition protests, APCRDA engineering teams remain at the site to ensure construction continues without interruption.
