The bustling machinery of progress often leaves behind a trail of unseen heartbreak. While the coalition government pushes the rapid construction of the Amaravati capital, a deeply unsettling reality is unfolding on the ground. In Undavalli village, local farmers are facing severe distress, giving a stark reality check to the authorities.
The government, which previously pooled roughly 55,000 acres, now plans to acquire an additional 50,000 acres in phases. While land pooling moves forward elsewhere, the farmers of Undavalli are standing firm against the capital land pooling policy not out of malice, but out of sheer survival.
A battle for Identity and Survival
For these villagers, land is not a commercial asset; it is their livelihood and generational anchor. Undavalli is home to nearly 12,000 residents. Out of the village’s 1,200 acres, the government has already taken nearly 400 acres under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS). The remaining farmers say they cannot part with another inch.
The introduction of new zoning regulations, like the Green Zone and E-1 Zone, has left locals gripped by profound anxiety.
“Many families here survive on just half an acre or one acre,” small-scale farmers shared during recent demonstrations. “After family divisions, some have less than 10 cents left. If the government takes this, how do we feed our families? Pushing us into this helplessness is deeply unjust.”
An Appeal for Empathy over Politics
What hurts the locals most is the cold, bureaucratic lens used against them. Undavalli farmers have opposed forced land pooling and expressed deep sorrow over being politically or socially pigeonholed just for defending their livelihoods. They are urging Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to look at their plight through a humanitarian lens.
The farmers are willing to cooperate with essential public infrastructure, like the Seed Access Road and the Kondaveeti Vagu expansion. However, they demand that the rest of their agricultural land be completely excluded from the capital footprint.
The Rising Tide of Solidarity
The unrest has sparked a wave of solidarity across the state. In a powerful demonstration, farmers submitted a formal petition to the Guntur Collectorate, requesting that their village be excluded from the land pooling and acquisition process for the capital city.
Opposition and Leftist parties have fiercely joined the cause, demanding:
An immediate halt to forced land acquisitions.
Absolute transparency in all capital construction works.
Developing Amaravati as an equitable space for the entire state, rather than a speculative real estate venture.
A true “People’s Capital” cannot be built on the tears of its own farmers. If the government fails to take the citizens’ emotions and livelihoods into account, this localized heartbreak could very well ignite a massive, state-wide public movement.
