The High Court of Andhra Pradesh held a hearing on the petition filed by film producer Aswini Dutt against the YCP Government on the issue of land compensation. The court issued notices to the Revenue and Municipal Administration Departments and the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) to file their final counters on this case. Mr. Dutt has claimed Rs. 210 Cr compensation for the losses caused to him by the Government in the whole transaction.
It may be recalled that the film producer gave 39 acres of his land for the Gannavaram airport expansion project. In return for the same, the previous TDP Government gave plots in the Amaravati Capital City area. At the time of this transaction, Aswini Dutt claimed that his Gannavaram land cost in the open market was about Rs. 1.54 Cr per acre. Now, the present Government was shifting Capital out of Amaravati, which was in violation of the agreement and which would cause severe loss to him.
The High Court heard the arguments today and issued notices to the CRDA and the revenue officials. Mr. Dutt has made the AP Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as respondents in the case.
Film actor UV Krishnam Raju also gave his Gannavaram land similarly in return for plots in Amaravati Capital city. The Government is maintaining that it is retaining Amaravati as Capital city only. But, the petitioners claim that Executive Capital which is the real Capital of any State was being shifted to Visakhapatnam.
The AP High Court has ordered the YCP government not to proceed with the Executive Capital shifting out of Amaravati till further orders. But, Jagan Circar issued a GO moving AP Vigilance Commission and AP Commissionerate of Enquiries to Kurnool. The HC already took objection to it saying that was a contempt of court. Now, another GO is silently issued merging four villages of the CRDA with the Tadepalli and Mangalagiri municipalities.
This is being considered not just as a contempt of court order but also as an utter disregard for the legislative and parliamentary procedures. The above four villages are part of the CRDA. They are Navuluru, Errabalem, Bethapudi and Penumaka. Right now, the CRDA Cancellation Bill is pending for approval of the AP Legislative Council. It got stuck in a legislative stalemate. Jagan Reddy government is not recognising the independent functioning of Council Chairman MA Sharif. YCP Ministers are not giving value to Select Committee ordered by Sharif on CRDA Bill.
Political analysts say that Jagan Circar is apparently on a mission to ignore all constitutional obligations in order to demolish Amaravati Capital piece by piece. As a result, Capital farmers are forced to file countless petitions in the courts starting endless litigation.
The previous TDP government convinced and got the 29 Amaravati village panchayats pass resolutions to merge with the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA). Only after this, the villages lost their panchayat status and cleared the way for en masse handing over of farmers lands for Capital City construction. Now, the Jagan Reddy government is forced to get reverse resolutions from all these 29 panchayats in order to cancel the CRDA Act. The YCP leaders and the CRDA staff are now busy trying to get these reverse resolutions by using all sorts of tactics including threats. They are telling residents of Amaravati villages that they will lose lot more if they don’t cooperate on the fresh resolutions.
Already, the government has proposed to form the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA) in place of CRDA for reverse merger of all 29 Capital villages with the new AMRDA. The Capital shifting and CRDA cancellation bills are not yet passed in the Council but the government is going ahead with CRDA dismantling through panchayats resolutions. The High Court has stopped all Capital shifting steps but the Jagan Reddy Circar is continuing to ignore the court orders as usual. In a clear contempt of court, the AP government has also issued notices to Amaravati villages to pass these resolutions unconditionally. Endless litigation from the government side is undoubtedly robbing the farmers of their peace and property.
The Jaganmohan Reddy government has outrightly cancelled the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Act. In its place, the government is forming the Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA). Minister Botsa Satyanarayana says that the AMRDA will develop the plots and hand over them to the farmers as per the previous agreements. Why has Jagan Circar finally cancelled the CRDA?
The YCP Ministers once again told the Assembly that the CRDA was solely aimed at developing a massive real estate venture to benefit Chandrababu Naidu family and his caste people. Very humiliatingly, Minister Kanna Babu redefined the CRDA as the Chandrababu Real Estate Development Agency but not Capital Region Development Authority.
Even the local YCP MLAs and Ministers in Capital districts have supported Jagan move to shift Main Capital out of Amaravati. They have also repeated the real estate allegations against the previous TDP Regime. Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy said that Rs. 750 Cr was being paid to a particular region in Amaravati towards rental charges every year. He pointed out how Naidu misused the CRDA only to give benefits to his caste but not for the local people.
APCRDA organized a two month long concept design competition for selection of Master Architect for the vast 900 acre Government Complex of Amaravati. Three teams – Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners, Vastu Shilpa Consultants and Maki & Associates took part in the competition which concluded on 25th March, 2016.
The six-member jury, comprising Prof. Christopher Benninger as the chairman and members Prof. K.T. Ravindran (India), Prof. Erwin Viray (Japan), Prof. Suhaozkan (Turkey), Rajeev Seethi and Keshav Varma (India) unanimously selected the Japanese designs ( Maki & Associates) from among the three design expertise group consultants.
Here are the videos of three finalists – including the winner Maki & Associates
Andhra Pradesh government is planning to organize the foundation stone laying ceremony for construction of new capital Amaravati as world class and spectacular event that goes down in history of Andhra Pradesh history a land mark. The CRDA has invited bids from globally reputed event managing organizations to publicize the event globally and organize it in a memorable way.
” International and national dignitaries will participate in this event along with public of around 50000 people. It is proposed to conduct various events culminating in the ceremony to facilitate the feeling of celebrations. The event is proposed in the new Capital City on an open land of 50 acres,” a notification issued for the purpose said.
The foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of Amaravati will be held on 22nd October 2015 and Prime Minister Modi will be the chief guest. Prime Ministers of Japan and Singapore are expected grace the occasion.
The CRDS said , “the aspiration is to create a people’s capital that is vibrant, diverse, inclusive and modern which is not only a glowing pride for all the people of Andhra Pradesh but also a magnet for skilled migrants, industries, business and professionals from across the world. It would synthesize the best features of urban planning, sustainability and effective governance to create an inclusive, highly liveable and world-class urban ecosystem.”
In order to execute and conduct the event in a smooth and spectacular manner, APCRDA wants the services of an Event Management Agency for publicizing, planning and executing the event on Vijaya Dasami day.
According to Capital Region Development Authority, the exercise should lead to the creation of an encouraging environment in the public in the region and increase the appreciation of the New Capital City in the world. Promotional videos on the event and on Amaravati are expected to be made and publicized through various channels for this purpose. Apart from 50,000 people government is expecting 1000 VIPs and MIPs.
Janasena president and movie star Pawan kalyan unequivocally warned that TDP government should not resort to land acquisition in River Front villages in the Amaravati Capital development region with governmental force.
Taking a stand that is bound to cause embarrassment to the chief minister Chandrababu, Pawan said he was opposed to the acquisition the land from an area which gives three or four crops per year and whose owners were unwilling to part with their lands.
As far as the objective of taking the land from the farmers against their will, Pawan said,” there is no difference between scam ridden Vanpic project taken up by then chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy and CRDA(capital region development of authority) of Chandrababu Naidu. Both deprived the farmers of their lands.”
This analogy speaks volumes of Pawan’s mind.
Pawan reached Penumaka village, capital development region in Guntur district, this afternoon and had long interaction with farmers before addressing the gathering. A stone pelted at him by a miscreant failed to have any impact on the meeting.
All farmers told him that neither land pooling nor acquisition would be compensation for their land.The farmers told him they would rather commit suicide if they were to forego the land to the capital.
Many farmers, who own 25 to 60 cents told him that this small parcel was fetching them Rs 5000 per month, and the annuity the government was offering was just Rs 50,000 per year. “With land our lives also will be gone if the land is acquired,” the farmers told the ‘power star’.
“When these small farmers are not willing to part with their lands, government is not supposed to invoke land acquisition act, which is surviving with an ordinance that is going to expire this month end,” Pawan said. Stating that he was not questioning those people who voluntarily offered their land, Pawan said, other farmers also had the same right not to offer their land.
Putting forth an impressive argument in support of the farmers, Pawan, dismissed the averments of ministers Narayana, Pattipati Pullarao, Ravela Kishore Babu and MP Galla Jayadev, and recalled how TDP MP Muralimohan, a rich man, recoiled in anguish when his land was acquired for Hyderabad Outer Ring Road during Congress regime.
“A rich man like Muralimohan knocked the doors of supreme court against land acquisition done for ORR. Then is it wrong for a poor man, who has nothing but a few cents of land, to oppose the land acquisition to save his livelihood,” Pawan asked. He said in biting sarcasm that Muralimohan knows well the pain losing of land causes.
Similarly, he asked MP Galla Jayadev to visit the area to listen to the stories of agony of losing the land which gave them food for generations to understand the pain that results from the forceful separation farmer from his land.
Indirectly, Pawan questioned inadequacy of of thinking that had gone into the location of capital.
“I have met people from Rayalaseema who want the capital in their region as they lost the capital when it was shifted from Kurnool to Hyderabad following the formation of Andhra Pradesh. It clearly shows that a region is feeling that injustice meted out to it,” he said acknowledging the region fear that
they might not get justice from a government which was ignoring the demands of backward region.
Pawan lauded the efforts to build sky scrapers in capital city while stating that capital should not be built with tears of poor farmers.
In the same vein, Pawan posed another irksome question to the TDP government.” You (TDP) opposed YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s land acquisition for the Vanpic project. You fought in support farmers stating the Congress government was grabbing the farmers’ land to the benefit of phony companies. Then, what is the difference between Vanpic and CRDA,” he asked.
Through out the speech, Pawan had been piercingly sarcastic on Chandrababu Naidus’ experience.
Many times he referred to him as the experienced man, able administrator, builder of hi-tech city and as a man who impressed even the president of India while simultaneously pricking Naidu for his thoughtless pressure on the farmers to surrender their land for capital construction.
However, Pawan, feigned cautious about TDP and the government. “I have not come here to fight with a chief minister whom he supported in 2014 elections, painfully going against the wishes of his own brother. We resolve issues across the table. In issues can’t be resolved throgh talk what is meaning democracy,” he asked and adding that he would not hesitate to lay down his life for a just cause.
While stating that he was still a supporter of TDP’s Naidu, he clarified that he was not a slave to that alliance.
The state government, which is facing many cases with regard to the destruction of multi-cropped areas to make room for construction of capital Amaravati, has placed a pack of lies before the National Green Tribunal stating that the total sown area in Amaravati capital region is negligible and would not have any adverse impact on the food security of AP or the nation.
Responding to NGT notices, Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) commissioner N Srikanth reportedly informed the Tribunal that the area under cultivation in the capital is just 0.027 percent of the total sown area in the state during kharif last year. The extent of paddy cultivation is mere 0.077 percent of the total paddy cultivable area in AP.
According to Sri Kantah, the argument that the construction of capital was being taken up at the cost vibrant agricultural economy. The total sown area in the proposed capital last year was around 11,242 hectares of which paddy was cultivated in just 1,266 hectares, he added.
And there was no reference to the contentious multi-crop land that is being acquired now which Jana Sena president and movie star Pawan Kalyan is also opposing. Incidentally, CRDA chief Srikanth’s assertion is based on the revenue records of 1908.
Professor Chigurupati Ramachandraiah contradicts:
Chigurupati Ramachandraiah, an eminent professor from Centre for Economics and Social Sciences (CESS), Hyderabad, contradicted the argument of CRDA.
” This is an attempt to reduce the whole cultivation in the fertile region into insignificant percentages of state/national level figures in food production. I wish the National Green Tribunal sees through the game and calls his bluff,” Ramachandraiah said.
He appealed to TDP supporters that, “a government which tells lies and cheats the courts today cannot tell the truth tomorrow, and set high standards in public life for future generations. This is not a party (or, worse, caste) affair.”
Aramane Giridhar, one of the able administrators and known for integrity and straightforwardness, has been shifted from Municipal administration and Urban development (MA&UD) to sleepy APPSC as secretary.
According to grapevine, Giridhar is said have opposed to the way things are moving in the development of Amaravati, the new capital emerging on the banks of River Krishna in Guntur district as multi-billion dollar business venture.
As he did not want himself to be party to the controversial decisions of the government, Giridhar went on leave which finally culminated in his shifting to APPSC, where, the government thinks, he could not work at purposes with the political bosses as the government has no plans notify the jobs in near future.
The talk in the corridors of power is that Giridhar, an alumnus of JNTU Anantapur, fall prey to capital politics, solely controlled by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and MA&UD minister P Narayana. While chief minister is at the helm of affairs of Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), Narayana is the field commander. Narayana has got N Srikanth, a relatively junior officer appointed as the commissioner for CRDA, who started ignoring Principal Secretary MA& UD, joining hands with the minister.
Giridhar is the second officer to be shunted out of MA&UD for being too much pesky about abiding by the rules in the matters of Amaravati Construction, the first being D Samasiva Rao, who was shown the door, a bit honorably, as TTD executive officer, when his political boss Narayana found him not compatible to the objectives he was pursuing. Narayana, a education-businessman turned politician, is the most influential minister in the cabinet after the CM.
For Giridhar, a 1998 batch IAS officer, this is the second transfer in the past seven months.
Opposing government decision that harm national interests and benefit corporate companies is not new to Giridhar. When in union ministry of petroleum and natural gas as joint secretary, Giridhar rattled the UPA government by taking on the powerful Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). At that time he was enjoying the confidence of his minister S Jaipal Reddy. Both Reddy and Giridhar held Mukesh Ambani-Controlled RIL responsible for the shortfall in the production and failure to fully implement the field development program in the Krishna Godavari Basin’s D6 block. The fall out- first Jaipal Reddy was replaced by N Veerappa Moily as Petroleum minister. Second, Moily upon assuming office as petroleum minister immediately stripped Girdhar of the sensitive responsibility of gas pricing in August 2013. The subject was transferred to somebody who lacked domain knowledge. Hell broke loose. The entire Opposition screamed blue murder and alleged that Giridhar was divested of sensitive subject only to placate RIL . Even the secretary concerned also opposed Moily’s unilateral decision to reshuffle subjects of joint secretaries. But after elections, Naidu brought Giridhar back to Andhra Pradesh as chief minister’s principal secretary. Little did Naidu think that one day Giridhar would become a thorn in his flesh as well. Naidu and Narayana soon found that Giridhar was at odds with their interests. A charge that he was not entertaining TDP politicians in CMO had been leveled. Later he was shifted out of CMO to MA&UD.
Sources said Giridhas was again planning to go to New Delhi on deputation.
Would he find peace in Modi’s New Delhi, where corporate companies are treated as Gods of future India?
