Farmers ready to offer 36,000 acres under second phase land pooling for Amaravati: Minister

Andhra Pradesh Municipal Minister P Narayana has said that farmers have come forward to offer 36,000 acres of land for the second phase of land pooling for the greenfield capital city of Amaravati to accommodate an international airport, smart industries and a sports city.

Addressing a press conference at the secretariat on Monday, the minister noted that the TDP-led NDA government needs 5,000 acres of land to build an airport similar to Shamshabad Airport in Hyderabad and another 2,500 acres each to accommodate smart industries and an international sports city respectively.

However, he observed that no decision has been taken yet whether the government should go for land acquisition or land pooling options, adding that village meetings are being held to elicit farmers' opinion.

According to Narayana, farmers are gravitating towards land pooling option.

The state government is already having a land bank of 54,000 acres for the greenfield capital city, which is yet to be fully utilised by bringing in infrastructure and constructions and is going for an additional 40,000 acres of land under a second phase.

On April 15, Narayana had announced that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is keen on creating a 'mega city' combining adjacent Mangalagiri, Tadepalli, Guntur and Vijayawada with Amaravati.

Further, he said the 48th Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) meeting chaired by the CM on Monday took a decision to confirm the L1 (least cost) bidders to construct five administrative towers in the core capital area of the greenfield capital city at an estimated cost of Rs 3,673 crore. Narayana said work on these towers will commence soon.