Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Saturday slammed the State government for what she alleged as a “lack of development in Amaravati despite acquiring 54,000 acres of land from farmers and government sources over the past 11 years”.
Addressing a press conference at the party office Andhra Ratna Bhavan in Vijayawada, she said Amaravathi had not seen any meaningful infrastructure or progress and questioned how only 700 acres of the total 54,000 acres reportedly remained unallocated.
Ms. Sharmila alleged that Amaravathi had become a real-estate-driven project, lacking transparency in land use, allotments, revenue generation and employment output. She demanded the release of a White Paper and public disclosure of land details on the CRDA website.
She opposed the government’s fresh plan to acquire 20,000 more acres in phase-2 when the first phase itself remained undeveloped and called it unnecessary, unjust, and an act of coercion against farmers. She said the government’s claim that 5,000 acres was needed for a new greenfield airport was not true and cited examples of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport which occupied only 1,850 acres, Bhogapuram airport 2,200 acres, and Gannavaram airport just 1,250 acres. She said expansion of the existing airports was a more rational and economic option.
Ms. Sharmila also criticised the Union government for contributing only ₹1,500 crore towards development of Andhra Pradesh capital, while the State had incurred ₹58,000 crore in loans. She reaffirmed the Congress stand against further land acquisition until Phase-1 development was completed, insisting on documentation, transparency and protection of farmers’ interests.
Published – November 29, 2025 08:18 pm IST
