Cabinet approves 2nd phase of land pooling in Amaravati

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has approved the second phase of land pooling in Amaravati. A total of 16,666.56 acres across seven villages will be acquired for the Inner Ring Road, railway facilities, an international sports city, and a proposed international airport spread over 500 acres. Farmers will receive residential and commercial plots as per the same norms followed earlier. The Cabinet reaffirmed that issues related to assigned lands and returnable plots are under final review.

The Cabinet also cleared a key proposal enabling the State to recognise notified partners involved in the construction of Google’s fully subsidised data centre coming up in Viskhapatnam.The approval relates to G.O MS No. 40 issued on October 11, 2025, and allows experienced infrastructure and IT-solutions firms such as Adani Infra India, Adani Conax, Adani Power, Bharti Airtel, Nextra A Data and Nextra Vizag to undertake various construction, cabling, and systems-related works. The government clarified that the authorisation does not alter the investment commitments, timelines, or quality obligations earlier agreed with Raidon Infotech India, the lead entity for the project.

The Cabinet also endorsed the proposal to establish a new special-purpose vehicle for the upgraded Bharat Net programme. The revised initiative, with an approved outlay of Rs 2,428 crore, seeks to expand and modernise roughly 24,000 kilometres of optical-fibre infrastructure in partnership with the Centre. The network will be upgraded to a next-generation IP-MPLS architecture and integrated with APSFL to provide unified high-capacity broadband across the State.

In a separate decision, the government approved a restructuring plan for medical colleges operated under the public-private partnership model (PPP) model. Lands allotted for these colleges will be restricted strictly to medical and academic use.

The Cabinet endorsed the construction of 625-bed hospitals, UG and PG colleges, staff housing and supporting facilities. Additional institutions, dental, nursing, AYUSH and telemedicine, may be added, with three per cent incremental revenue payable to the state. The earlier land allocation of 257.50 acres for four colleges has been revised to 197.71 acres after review. Teaching-hospital staff salaries will be borne by the government for two years until new PPP facilities become operational.

The Cabinet also decided to bring private AYUSH hospitals under the Clinical Establishments Act to ensure minimum standards, proper registration, and uniform service quality.