Y S Jaganmohan Reddy slams Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu over capital city project

AMARAVATI: YSR Congress President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today came down heavily on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu over the "forcible" acquisition of land from farmers in the name of building the State's new capital city Amaravati.
"It is close to three years since the Chandrababu Government assumed power but till date it could not build anything in the capital. Nobody knows how the Assembly, Secretariat or High Court will look like or even where they will be built.

"The Chief Minister does not even have clarity on how much land is required for the capital," said Jagan, who toured several villages in the capital region and addressed farmers.

While the Government "forcibly" took away 27,000 acres under the "land pooling scheme", another 21,000 acres of assigned, Wakf and other lands were also taken away from the poor and hapless farmers. Thus, in all, 48,000 acres was acquired by the Government in the name of the capital."

"He (Chandrababu) goes to Singapore and says that country will design our capital's master plan. He goes to Sri Lanka and China and tells the same. And now, after watching the movie `Bahubali', he asks its director Rajamouli to design the capital master plan," Jagan mocked.

Referring to the Interim Government Complex built at Velagapudi village, the Leader of Opposition said it was a "major scandal" as the State administration spent a staggering Rs 650 crore on a "temporary" structure.

"To build a 6 lakh sq ft area, the Government spent Rs 650 crore at a rate of over Rs 10,000 per sq ft. This is a major scam," he alleged.

The YSRC chief accused the TDP-led Government of handing over hundreds of acres of land - pooled from farmers - to private entities at a cheap price.

"Private companies of Singapore are being given away 1,600 acres of land under the Swiss Challenge method, for a meagre investment of Rs 306 crore."

"You are staying in a rented house. I will soon buy land, build a own house and stay in Amaravati. I will ensure that farmers of the region, from whom you snatched thousands of acres of land, get justice," Jagan said.

The YSRC leader visited Tadepalli, Penumaka, Nidamarru, Lingayapalem and other villages in the capital region and interacted with farmers.