In a village in Amaravati, Chandrababu Naidu govt gets the plot right

The state government had promised to allot residential plots of sizes between 1,000 and 1,200 sq yards and commercial plots of 250 to 300 sq yards for each acre, depending on land the farmers had surrendered under the land pooling scheme (LPS).

There is a buzz in the area since the village and surrounding areas would be developed as an educational hub as part of the master plan. Several academic institutes have reportedly shown interest in starting their campuses in the area, and the locals expect land prices to zoom rapidly. Officials said the government is making efforts to get the University of Cambridge to set up its campus.

While some farmers of Nelapadu village, about 45 km away, had received plots in July, Sakhamuru village is considered a model because 98 per cent of farmers here had given up their land to the LPS — 1,500 acres of 1,626 acres of farmland in Sakhamuru was given. “Only a few acres were not ceded as they are disputed land. The rest belongs to the government,’’ said village sarpanch Varaprasad Reddy.

Since Tuesday, villagers had started making rounds of the tehsildar’s office for information on location of plots to be allocated to them. “We received SMSes that plot numbers and location would be announced on Wednesday, so everyone is very excited and anxious at the same time,’’ said Vishnu Reddy, a young farmer whose family gave up 3 acres.

A huge map of plot layouts put up outside tehsildar Sudhir Babu’s office, specifying location of plots on three sides of the village, drew a large number of people through the day. On Wednesday morning, the CRDA sent text messages to farmers, giving them the number and location of plots.

Tehsildar Sudhir Babu said: “We distributed certificates of ownership of plots to more than 600 farmers so far today…and all of them are happy – we have not received any objections so far.”

Thadigoppa Sambasiva Rao, whose family pooled 13 acres, received 13 residential plots of 1,000 sq yards each, and 13 commercial plots of 250 sq yards each. On residential plots, farmers can build houses or give it to real estate developers to build residential complexes, apartments or bungalows that can be leased or sold off. On commercial plots, they can set up shops, multiplexes, etc.

Besides plots, they will also receive Rs 30,000 per year per acre, pooled with a 10-per cent increase for the next 10 years.

While most seemed happy, some farmers complained that their plots do not have the location advantage. “The proposed Outer Ring Road is on the periphery (of the upcoming city) and I wanted a plot there, but I got it on the other side. I don’t think its value will increase quickly,” said V Sambaiah.

Naresh Kumar, who gave half an acre in LPS, said all big plots have been carved out on one side of the village and small plots spread over in other areas, which would mean land value of the other areas would not increase as fast.