In a setback to the plans of the Andhra Pradesh government to lay the foundation stone for its new capital Amaravati in June, the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad on Friday ruled that farmers can continue cultivating the land they gave the state.
The order is being seen as an embarrassment to the government, which has ordered farmers not to cultivate the land.
Responding to petitions filed by 300 farmers from the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) areas, the high court has said they can cultivate their land, and directed the state government not to create hurdles for their cultivation.
Earlier, the high court has had ordered that all those who submitted the consent form (Form 9.3) expressing willingness to give land for land-pooling can take them back if there is a change of mind.
Hailing the court's decision, the YSRCP MLA from Mangalagiri (Guntur district) Ch Ramakrishna Reddy said the government should have pooled dry land instead of fertile land. “This is a wake-up call for the adamant TDP government, which is hell-bent on taking away fertile riverfront land from farmers,” he said, adding that only 9,000 acres of the 33,000 acres the government claims to have pooled is under CRDA possession.
Meanwhile, celebrations erupted at the Undavalli village as farmers who have got permission to cultivate their land set off firecrackers and distributed sweets. “After the weekend holiday, many more farmers are getting ready to file petitions seeking permission to cultivate their land,” said a farmer.