Andhra Govt Constitutes High-powered Panel to Address Issues Raised by Farmers on Proposed Three-Capital Plan

Amaravati: Amid the ongoing unrest over the proposed three-capital formula, Andhra Pradesh government on Friday assured farmers in the region that their problems would be addressed and constituted a high-powered committee.

The committee will study the GN Rao Committee Report and the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) Report and give its recommendation in the matter. The GN Rao Committee had recommended the decentralisation of power.

In the cabinet meeting on Friday, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government decided to defer the decision on relocating the state capital.

Speaking to media after the Cabinet meeting, Information Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said, "Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wanted decentralisation of development and equal representation to all regions. He is committed to the creation of the Legislative capital in Amaravati.”

He further said, “Even the GN Rao Committee wants the government to continue the development activities that are taking place in the region. The farmers of the area should come forward for discussions instead of taking up an agitation.”

While the GN Rao Committee has submitted its report, BCG is slated to give in its report in the first week of January.

"If all the farmers of the Amaravati region have to stage a dharna or an agitation, it should be done in front of the former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu who had pooled in 33,000 acres of land in the region but hadn’t started development on 1,000 acres of land. Had Naidu completed the capital construction during his regime, this situation would not have arisen. Although he had earlier claimed that Rs 1.09 lakh crore was needed for the project, he is now saying that it is a self-financed project." he added.

Nani also said, "With Rs 1.09 lakh core in hand, the priorities could differ. We think of utilising such money on the welfare sector for Aarogyasri, fees reimbursement, irrigation projects, Polavaram, water grid, housing, and other such schemes. Whether these schemes will be sacrificed for a dream city was also discussed at length in the cabinet meeting." he said.

"If Naidu thought it would be a self-financed project, he could have raised Rs 1.09 lakh crore by selling the 33,000 acres of land. The farmers should ask Naidu why he did not do that and had he done that; they need not have taken up the agitation now," he said.

"It is a fact that Chandrababu Naidu had deceived the farmers of the Amaravati region that a world-class dream capital would be built here. But not even a proper road was constructed for the temporary Assembly and the Secretariat by the previous regime," he said.

"At least 10,000 employees of the Secretariat had approached Chandrababu Naidu. They asked him to build houses for them near the Secretariat with bank loans, which was not conceded by the former chief minister. Why didn’t Naidu plan to build a permanent capital here." Nani said.