Not only the farmers of Amaravati, but the people of Andhra Pradesh are also eager to complete the capital Amaravati without any obstacles this time. Unlike earlier, Narendra Modi-led central government also this time responded positively to fulfill the ambitious Amaravati project.
However, due to various reasons for about a year, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was unable to revive construction activities here. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit on May 2, everyone expects that the construction activity will move forward without any obstacles.
But, surprisingly, CM Chandrababu and Municipal Administration Minister Dr P Narayana’s latest announcement that Amaravati is a self-sufficient project is surprising everyone. According to them, once the capital is developed, the remaining lands will be sold and the debt will be paid off. Moreover, the Chief Minister also said that from the income being generated from Amaravati, it would be possible to develop the entire state.
But now, there is a discussion in the ruling and political circles that both of them are greedily playing dangerous games with the capital Amaravati. They have been campaigning that if Amaravati is developed where it is now as planned, the entire area along with the farmers will be transformed wonderfully.
A senior minister revealed that it is clear that Chandrababu and Narayana have brought the issue of additional land to the fore when they are assured that loans will be received from the World Bank and other financial institutions and the work will definitely be completed.
They say that they have now taken this new track to benefit from them by giving away thousands of acres to private companies in the name of a greenfield airport. Chandrababu and Narayana, who had said that the returnable plot rates of farmers would increase if the Amaravati work was completed, are now bringing a new argument to the fore that the rates will not increase unless an international airport and a sports city come up, as part of this plan.
The ruling TDP leaders are suspecting that there is a huge sketch behind the sports city just like the airport. That is why Minister Narayana is saying that people should be persuaded to invest in Amaravati in IT and industrial sectors on a large scale. So, bribing a new argument that this will be possible only if there is an international airport.
It may be recalled that in Hyderabad, Shamshabad Airport is over 30 kilometers away from the main city. But Minister Narayana is repeatedly trying to plant the myth in the minds of the people that unless the airport is in the heart of the capital, industries will not come to Amaravati.
IAS officials who have seen these affairs closely say that despite many steps being taken to promote the IT sector in Vizag in the combined state, they have not achieved much success. According to officials, the campaign by Minister Narayana that IT companies will come to Amaravati if the airport comes is nothing more than a plan to acquire a large-scale land bank. Ultimately, these efforts are feared to turn into a mega real estate venture, more than a capital city.