VIJAYAWADA: APCC president YS Sharmila Reddy has expressed serious concern over the large-scale land acquisition being proposed for Amaravati, stating that the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially the farmers of the region, deserve full transparency before any further decisions are made.
She said that in the name of building a capital city, a massive real-estate driven operation has been unfolding for years, while the promised development on the 54,000 acres already taken from farmers and government lands is yet to materialise.
Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, Sharmila highlighted that 29,000 farmers surrendered 34,000 acres in the first phase alone, trusting the commitments made to them. Including government lands, a total of 54,000 acres were placed under the control of the previous government for the capital project.
Yet, after 11 years, Amaravati shows no meaningful progress, no major infrastructure built, no high-rise buildings constructed, no visible development across the 217 square-kilometer area originally designated for the capital. She noted that wild weeds have overtaken lands where a world-class city was promised, and not even a single kilometer of genuine development can be identified.
Reaffirming the Congress Party’s position, Sharmila stated that the party firmly opposes second-phase land acquisition until the government fully develops the first-phase lands and provides complete, transparent documentation of how the initial 54,000 acres have been utilised or distributed.