VIJAYAWADA: Tensions flared at a recent Grama Sabha (village assembly) meeting when local farmers fiercely confronted officials from the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA). The meeting, held at the CRDA Competent Authority office in Thullur Mandal, Guntur district, quickly escalated into a heated argument, requiring police intervention to de-escalate the situation.
The protest highlights the deep-seated frustration among landowners who surrendered their properties for the construction of Andhra Pradesh’s capital, Amaravati, but now feel abandoned by the administrative processes.
“We Don’t Want the City, We Want Our Land”
During the assembly, farmers openly rejected the current committee’s resolution attempts. According to local reports, the gathered farmers emotionally declared:
“We don’t want the city, we don’t want anything. The three-member committee is not resolving our issues. Just give us back our lands, and we will do our farming.”
The anger boiled over when an argument broke out between a local farmer named Ranjit and the police. Witnesses stated that CRDA Commissioner V. Vijaya Rama Raju directed the police to seat the protesting farmers, which led to a brief scuffle as authorities tried to move Ranjit aside. The situation created a brief period of chaos before officials managed to calm the crowd.
Farmers expressed deep resentment toward successive administrations, noting that neither the previous commissioners nor the current three-member committee had effectively addressed their grievances.
Key Issues Raised by the Community
The Grama Sabha was organized specifically to discuss land pooling and acquisition matters involving 94 farmers from Mandhadam village, covering approximately 33.81 acres of land.
Beyond primary land ownership disputes, the residents brought forward several pressing civic grievances:
- Drinking Water Scarcity: Residents of the local residential colony demanded an immediate resolution to the ongoing drinking water crisis in their neighborhood.
- Graveyard Relocation: The community demanded that a village graveyard removed for development purposes be replaced with a new burial ground near the local river.
- FSI Regulations: Farmers expressed frustration over a six-month delay regarding requested changes to the Floor Space Index (FSI) regulations.
- Stagnant Infrastructure: Protesters pointed out that development works in LPS Zone-8 have not yet commenced. They demanded that dangerous pits dug for roads be immediately filled with gravel.
- Transparency in Funding: The community demanded a clear public disclosure of where and how village development funds are being utilized, alongside a meeting with the designated contractors.
Official Response and Assurances
Responding to the outcry, Commissioner V. Vijaya Rama Raju explained that the Grama Sabha was intentionally organized to directly consult with farmers who had not initially participated in the land pooling scheme. He noted that if land pooling cooperation is not reached, the government would be legally forced to initiate formal land acquisition processes under standard Ministry of Rural Development guidelines.
Regarding the specific land grievances of 24 farmers involving 13 acres and 63 cents in Mandadam, officials announced that a special committee led by the Guntur Joint Collector, Ashutosh Srivastava, is actively working on the matter.
The Commissioner promised that the committee would conduct a two-day field visit to review the situation and deliver a final decision shortly. He assured the gathering that the farmers’ issues would be thoroughly reviewed within a week, with concrete steps toward resolution expected by the first week of next month.
