A politician’s decision has resulted in the turning of 33,000 acres of agricultural land into desert.
Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan has cleared the three capital and the CRDA bill. Subsequently, the state will be forming three state capitals: Kurnool as the judicial capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital and Vishakhapatnam as the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh.
When Chandrababu Naidu’s government was in the ruling, Amaravati was declared suitable for state capital. Then Jagan came into power, and declared Amaravati as not suitable. So where does the problem lie? Is it in the political system or the bureaucratic system?
More than 24,500 farmers had given 33,000 acres of agricultural land for the development of the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. With the recent assent of the Governor on the three-capital bill on July 31, 2020, the Amaravati farmers are in a dilemma. They have been standing in protest for over 200 days now.
Former CM Nadu raised concerns over the unfair clearance of the bill as it has not been passed by the State Legislative Council. How can the Governor assent the bill when it is still in the Supreme Court, Naidu asked.
The AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, demands the state government to find a place for the capital and build it within 10 years. Till 2024, Hyderabad will remain the capital of Andhra Pradesh. But Babu’s government left Hyderabad in 2016 and rushed into Vijayawada. He proposed Amaravati as the state capital and bought 33,000 acres of agricultural land from the farmers. Later, when Jagan came into power in 2019, he proposed three capitals to decentralise the state.
History Of The Formation Of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh was first separated on Oct 1, 1953, from the Madras Presidency with Kurnool as the state capital. The separation was sparked by the death of the revolutionary Potti Sreeramulu who went on a 56-day hunger strike to form a separate state for the Telugu-speaking population of the Madras Presidency.
Later, on November 1, 1956, the Telugu-speaking region of the Hyderabad state merged with the Andhra state under the Gentlemen Agreement to form Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad became the state capital. However, due to the failure of the Gentlemen Agreement, Telangana movement started in 1969, which led to the separation of Telangana on June 2, 2014. Hyderabad was declared to continue as the state capital for another 10 years.
Since 1956, development had been taking place only in one city of the state. Only Hyderabad was developed, while the remaining part of the state remained underdeveloped. The Rayalaseema region of the state, which includes the districts of Chittoor, Kurnool, Anantapuramu and Kadapa, and the eastern region of the state with the districts of Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, remain the backward areas of Andhra Pradesh. There has also been a movement for Separate Rayalaseema, but it hasn’t gained as much momentum. It is keeping in view the overall development of the state that the Jagan government had proposed three capitals.
The biggest challenge before the government is how the massive land purchased in Amaravati will be re-distributed among the farmers. Will the farmers be convinced or not? Any how, a lot of agricultural land is getting wasted. Even as foreign countries find ways to cultivate vegetables on desert land, our government is wasting agricultural land and turning it into a desert. Instead of helping the farmers, the government has become a nightmare for the farmers.