Amaravati capital seems to have lit another fire at Gannavaram. The previous government acquired 800 acres of land for Gannavaram airport expansion four years ago. They include a 31-acre grove belonging to veteran film actor and BJP leader Krishnam Raju and 39 acres belonging to film producer C Aswani Dutt. The then government had promised to give land in Amaravati on the lines of land pooling. The farmers and landowners at Gannavaram were promised 25 cents of developed land in Amaravati for each acre they part with.
Agreeing to this offer, farmers handed over 800 acres to the airport. However, with the YSRCP government deciding to split the capital into three pieces creating doubts over continuation of even legislative capital at Amaravati, the agitated land donors of Gannavaram are now approaching the High Court. Krishnam Raju and Aswani Dutt filed a petition in the court stating that they had parted with the land with the hope of being compensated by way of land in Amaravati which was promised to be developed as capital but now the current government is trying to shift the capital elsewhere. The High Court asked the state government to file a counter affidavit on the petition.
What really happened?
The TDP government planned to upgrade Gannavaram airport into full-fledged international airport. It was estimated that 800 acres of land is required in Buddhavaram and Keesarapalli villagers. At that time, the cost of land there was Rs 5 crore an acre. As direct acquisition would need Rs 4,000 crore, the government looked for alternatives.
It proposed to farmers at Gannavaram that it will compensate them with one-fourth land in Amaravati for whatever extent of land they give for the airport. Farmers agreed to the offer and handed over their lands to the Airports Authority of India.
No lands if capital is shifted
Along with actor Krishnam Raju and Aswani Dutt, hundreds of farmers have knocked at the door of the High Court stating that they can’t give their lands as the promise by the previous government to give lands in Amaravati does not stand since the present government is planning to shift the capital to another city.
The open market value of the lands at Gannavaram airport is around Rs 5 crore an acre. Moreover, farmers are not ready to sell their lands there. They are now obstructing airport expansion works on their lands demanding the government to settle their compensation first. If the government wants to take over lands, they want compensation under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
