Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh – November 6, 2025
The dream of Amaravati as Andhra Pradesh's gleaming state capital—a sprawling 33,000-acre eco-city envisioned to rival global hubs like Singapore—teeters on the brink once more, as furious farmers have thrown up barricades against renewed land surveys, stalling the project's momentum. What began as a routine mapping exercise on Tuesday morning erupted into a full-throated protest, with hundreds of landowners blocking survey teams and vowing not to budge until their cries for enhanced compensation are heeded. The standoff, unfolding under a sweltering November sun along the Krishna River's fertile banks, underscores the deep-seated grievances that have haunted the ambitious initiative since its inception over a decade ago.
The trouble ignited in villages like Thulluru and Penumaka, heartlands of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), where farmers who once voluntarily pooled their lands in 2015-16 now feel shortchanged. Back then, under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's first tenure, over 29,000 acres were acquired through a landmark land-pooling scheme, promising landowners annuities, developed plots, and a share in the city's prosperity. But the project's derailment under the subsequent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) regime—from 2019 to 2024—left many feeling betrayed. Vast tracts lay fallow, encroached upon, and devalued, while legal challenges piled up in courts over alleged irregularities.
With Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) reclaiming power in the June 2024 elections, hopes reignited for Amaravati's resurrection. The state government announced a ₹15 lakh crore masterplan in July, backed by Singapore's urban expertise and central funding pledges. Surveys were slated to resume by October to update land records, demarcate zones for infrastructure like the Assembly complex and high-rises, and kickstart construction. But for farmers like 62-year-old K. Venkateswarlu, a paddy cultivator from Inavolu village who surrendered 5 acres a decade ago, the revival feels like a raw deal. "We gave our blood and sweat for this 'world-class city,' but what did we get? Empty promises and weeds choking our fields," Venkateswarlu told reporters, his voice hoarse from hours of chanting slogans. "The annuity of ₹30,000 a year barely covers our losses, and the promised house sites? Still a mirage. Now they want to resurvey without hiking compensation to at least ₹50,000 per acre. No survey, no capital!"
The protests swelled rapidly, drawing over 2,000 participants by evening, including women and youth from the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham (APRS), a powerful farmers' union. They formed human chains around survey markers, torched effigies of CRDA officials, and raised banners decrying "land grab in the name of development." Clashes erupted briefly when police attempted to disperse the crowd with mild force, leading to five detentions and minor injuries. The Andhra Pradesh High Court, already seized with over 200 petitions on the project's legality, issued an interim stay on surveys in the affected mandals late Wednesday, citing "potential for unrest and unresolved claims."
Legal experts trace the quagmire to a tangled web of disputes. A 2021 CRDA notification under the YSRCP government had controversially declared parts of the pooled land as "non-essential," redirecting focus to a three-capitals model (Visakhapatnam executive, Amaravati legislative, Kurnool judicial). This was struck down by the High Court in March 2024, reinstating Amaravati as the sole capital, but not before sowing seeds of distrust. "The farmers' pooled land was meant to be a social contract, not a contract of adhesion," argues senior advocate V. Lakshminarayana, representing a consortium of petitioners. "With market values skyrocketing—prime Amaravati land now fetches ₹1-2 crore per acre—the original compensation is woefully inadequate. Courts must enforce fair market reassessment before any shovels hit the ground."
Government officials, caught off-guard by the ferocity, scrambled to contain the fallout. CRDA Commissioner J. Syamala Rao convened an emergency meeting in Vijayawada, assuring protesters via video link that "dialogue is our way forward." Naidu, addressing the Assembly amid the chaos, defended the surveys as "essential for transparency and progress," while hinting at a compensation review committee. "We've already released ₹1,200 crore in pending annuities since June. Amaravati isn't just bricks and mortar—it's the future of 5 crore Andhras. But we won't bulldoze our farmers," he stated, drawing cautious applause from TDP benches. The Chief Minister has scheduled a high-level delegation to meet protest leaders on Friday, with whispers of a potential ₹10,000 crore farmer welfare package tied to the project.
Yet, the impasse ripples beyond the fields. Real estate investors, who poured ₹5,000 crore into the region post-2024 elections, are jittery, with plot prices dipping 5-7% overnight. Infrastructure tenders for the ₹2,000 crore outer ring road hang in limbo, and Singapore's planning firm, RSP Architects, has paused site visits. Environmentalists, too, have piled on, warning that rushed development could devastate the Krishna delta's biodiversity, already strained by upstream irrigation projects.
As dusk fell on the protest site, under a canopy of protest banners fluttering like battle flags, 35-year-old activist Sunita Devi summed up the sentiment: "Amaravati was sold to us as a golden opportunity. Now it's a gilded cage. We'll fight in the streets and courts until justice flows like the Krishna itself." With the High Court hearing fixed for next week and monsoons looming, Andhra's capital conundrum remains as fluid and unpredictable as the river that cradles it.
For affected farmers, helplines (1800-425-0010) are active, and CRDA urges peaceful resolution. This story will update as negotiations unfold.
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