Former agriculture minister Vadde Shobhanadriswar Rao has appealed to the Chandrababu Naidu-led state government to reconsider its decision to grab thousands of acres of green fields across the state in the name of development and destroy them.
He recalled that while more than 300 companies from 30 countries are operating in Sri City, which is spread over an area of 5500 acres.
So, he asked to stop the crooked attempt to hand over 8500 acres of green fields to a single company called Indosol. He appreciated the struggle of thousands of Karedu farmers who are standing together and protecting their lands.
Speaking at a meet organized by Jana Chaitanya Vedika in Guntur, he said that it is foolish to plan to take 44,000 acres in the second phase of Amaravati and set up a railway station on 1500 acres, a sports city on 2500 acres and an international airport on 5000 acres.
He said that it is unwise to plan to build a 140-meter-wide, 189-kilometer-long, 8-lane outer ring road, which is unprecedented in any city in the world, and to acquire 8500 acres of land for this.
He said that it is strange that the top TDP leaders, who had previously called Shirdi Sai Electricals a benami company of Jaganmohan Reddy, are now supporting the same company. Moreover, he wondered if they are demanding more benefits and natural resources than the previous government.
AP Bar Council member Sunkara Rajendra Prasad said that it is a grave mistake to tie up the green fields of Karedu, which reflect the greenery of Konaseema and Kerala, with diverse crops and a diverse lifestyle, to the Indosol company in the name of land acquisition.
He deplored that if the state budget allocates 42,000 crores for the agriculture sector, but decided to give public money worth Rs. 46,429 crores to the Indosol company in the form of incentives and subsidies.
Former MLC K.S. Lakshmana Rao cautioned that forcibly acquiring crop lands from farmers by violating the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 will jeopardize food security in the future. Jana Chaitanya Vedika State President Vallamreddy Lakshmana Reddy deplored that it is unreasonable to decide to tie up the APSRTC land worth Rs. 500 crores, located in the heart of Vijayawada city, to Lulu Mall.