Capital cannot be built in sky, need land for everything: Andhra CM

Amaravati, Oct 13 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said here that a capital cannot be built in the sky and for any initiative land is needed.

Addressing the farmers who pooled their land for the greenfield capital city of Amaravati after inaugurating the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) building, Naidu noted that many people had advised him to build a capital in 50 or 100 acres of land.

"For anything we need land, you have to remember that. We don't build a capital in the sky, we cannot build," the CM said, while thanking and congratulating the farmers who gave their land. He observed that they were the reason for the inauguration of the CRDA building today.

Until now, the southern state has pooled 54,000 acres for Naidu's dream project Amaravati. Of this, 34,281 acres were pooled from 29,881 farmers from 29 villages. Majority of those who had parted with their land are Dalits.

Unlike Amaravati, Naidu asserted, Hyderabad was endowed with a lot of government land when the capital was being built and noted that the Cyberabad area did not develop during the Nizam's reign.

He said that area was used as a grazing ground for horses.

"So many government lands in that place and many people left Hyderabad for Pakistan and left their lands also. I took all of them and brick by brick developed them. I have that experience," he said, recalling his earlier stints as CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Presently, Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana, created in 2014 from AP.

Crediting Amaravati farmers, Naidu said when he didn't know what to do, they showed him the way forward and exhorted that any project he took up had "never failed." According to the CM, Amaravati made history for the first time in the world for which everybody pooled land. He expressed happiness that the CRDA building has started and called it just the beginning, adding that government and private buildings will come up in the future.

The TDP supremo promised to cooperate with Amaravati farmers in all ways until they bear the fruits of their sacrifice and reminded them that he witnessed their difficulties and the campaigns they had carried out.

"I will not forget you. If I forget you, it is tantamount to forgetting the sacrifice you made. Will remember you and your sacrifice. I am not saying it is over. We just started today. The beginning of our journey," he told the farmers.

Calling Amaravati a self-financing project, Naidu highlighted that he is not spending even a single pie from the exchequer.

"I am telling one thing to all the critics, you always criticise. I did not spend even Re 1 of government money in Hyderabad. I built building after building with my smartness and automatically taxes rose," he said.

Back in May, Naidu had informed the Finance Commission that Amaravati needs Rs 77,249 crore for its construction, a city with a focus on sustainability, innovation and inclusive growth.

Out of this, he had said that Rs 31,000 crore was secured from the World Bank, HUDCO and KfW (German development bank) while another Rs 47,000 crore was needed for Amaravati.

As the government is poised to procure more land for the greenfield capital city, Naidu drove home the message that if Amaravati stops where it is now then it will end up as a small city.

Underscoring the importance of the NDA government being in power in the future permanently, he said India will become the number one economy by 2047 and Andhra Pradesh its engine.

Earlier, he inaugurated the CRDA office building here. He was joined by the farmers who participated in the land pooling scheme for the greenfield capital city of Amaravati.

The new building, which houses the CRDA, Amaravati Development Corporation Ltd (ADCL) and all the wings of the Municipal Department, is the first to be inaugurated after the restart of Amaravati works, following the formation of the TDP-led NDA government in June 2024. PTI STH SA