Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday reacted sharply when asked about Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan’s statement regarding whether 33,000 acres was required to build the new capital city.
While maintaining that he did not know what the actor-politician had actually said, Mr Naidu said that a capital city did not mean just four buildings. “It should have economic and social activities and life. It should be built for the welfare of the people and with the future in mind,” he said.
Naidu said, “All those who are opposing pooling for the new capital should first study on how much land have world-class capitals been built.”
“We can construct a capital in a small area. We can construct it even on 100 acre with only Assembly and Secretariat buildings. But investors will not come to such a capital if there is no proper infrastructure and scope for economic progress and growth. No world-class capital city is built on just 100 acre. How many acres was Hyderabad city built on? How many acres are there within the 16-km ORR in Hyderabad?” he asked.
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Rejecting the claims of Pawan Kalyan and YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, that the government is forcibly taking land from farmers, the CM justified the Land Pooling Scheme stating that all farmers had voluntarily given their lands.
“It is the farmers who are going to benefit. Once the construction of the capital city commences, the land rates will skyrocket. The government is giving residential and commercial category of developed plots to farmers in lieu of their lands,” he said.
He added that the actions of those who opposed land pooling would only harm the interests of the farmers in the capital region.
"Nearly 32,000 acres of land has been given by farmers under the LPS. No one forced them to surrender their land. It is a voluntary scheme. Only a few people are objecting to it. In a democracy, there are always some with their own objections and suggestions," he said.
He added that the actions of those who opposed land pooling would only harm the interests of the farmers belonging to the capital region.
