Political fracas over land sites for poor
Ahead of the 10th anniversary of Andhra Pradesh’s division, the residual state’s capital, Amaravati, is back in the news. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government, waging a legal battle to realise its dream of three capitals, has decided to allot approximately 1,400 acres to about 50,000 beneficiaries from the economically backward sections, including the marginalised and minorities, in the capital region. The move expectedly ran into legal wrangles, with a section of the Amaravati farmers, backed by the opposition TDP, going to court. However, the high court, and later the Supreme Court, have given the green signal to the government to go ahead with its decision, subject to the outcome of the final verdict.
On the face of it, opposition to the allotment of plots to the poor is devoid of logic and empathy. But such is the trust deficit between the government, a section of the Amaravati farmers, and the opposition parties. Any move pertaining to the capital region is seen as an assault on the dreams of those who had surrendered lands for the proposed city. As per the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Act, 5% of the land can be allocated to the poor for residential purposes.
However, the previous Chandrababu Naidu government had set a condition that the construction of houses won’t get the green signal if the land parcel was less than 120 square yards. The Jagan government has brought in the R-5 zone to overcome the hurdle. The arguments advanced against the government action are political as well as economic. The latter is understandable as the farmers, who had moved the courts, fear that this is yet another government ploy not to develop Amaravati as promised. But the political argument by some sympathisers of the TDP is bizarre, to say the least. They fear a ‘demographic change’ and claim it is a ‘conspiracy’ to consolidate the YSRC’s position in the region.
These arguments are dubious because even the erstwhile Chandrababu Naidu government had envisioned residential areas in the capital! The ‘People’s Capital’, as the TDP regime branded Amaravati, cannot truly be so without people from different sections! Now that the Supreme Court has also given its nod, efforts to politicise the allotment of lands should stop. If not, they will create fissures among the people and harm the fabric of social harmony.