Must expand Amaravati to match Hyd scale: CM

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday categorically said a significant expansion of the Amaravati capital project, arguing that the current 29-village footprint is inadequate to build a metropolitan entity comparable to Hyderabad. He warned that if Amaravati remains confined to the existing area, it risks becoming “only a municipality,” not a capital-scale urban economy.

The comments of the CM came during a meeting with capital-region farmers at the Secretariat, against the backdrop of rising resistance to the proposed second phase of land pooling. The state is examining the acquisition of about 30,000 acres across 11 villages located outside the core capital grid, building on the land pool completed in 2015. Government data show that the 11 villages contain roughly 44,673 acres, of which authorities expect to acquire a majority through negotiation under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS). In the first phase, the state secured 34,000 acres, and an additional 16,000 acres came from endowment, forest, waqf and poramboke lands, raising Amaravati’s footprint to 50,000 acres. If the second phase proceeds as planned, the capital area will expand to nearly 80,000 acres, placing the project among India’s largest greenfield urban developments.

Naidu told the farmers that the government’s expansion plan requires their support and pledged that every issue raised will be resolved. A three-member committee - Union minister Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana and MLA Tenali Sravan Kumar, has already held multiple rounds of discussions on plot allocation, assigned lands and jarib land disputes.

Farmers acknowledged that a communication gap had fuelled discontent around the second phase but told the Chief Minister they were prepared to back the government’s plan after Thursday’s discussions. Many said they gained confidence that pending issues from the first phase would be addressed.

The meeting also touched on capital gains exemptions, with farmers urging Naidu to request the Union Government to extend the benefit for another two years ahead of Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Amaravati visit.

Naidu said he would meet farmers once every quarter, while the committee would engage with them monthly to accelerate dispute resolution. Officials indicated that surveys related to gramakantham lands would be completed within a month, followed by field inspections to ensure that no farmer is disadvantaged.