Farmers who gave land for amaravati left “drowning” in broken promises
In a shocking revelation that strikes at the heart of Amaravati’s land pooling story, farmers who surrendered their fertile, multi-crop lands for the capital are now discovering that the plots “developed” for them by the CRDA lie inside tank beds. A decade after giving their lands, the promised commercial future has turned into environmental and legal quicksand.
A decade of waiting: for tank bed plots
Under Chandrababu Naidu’s land pooling scheme, 29,233 farmers from 29 villages handed over 34,937 acres to CRDA.
In return, they were promised:
- Dry land: 1,000 sq yd residential + 200 sq yd commercial plot per acre
- Wet land: 1,000 sq yd residential + 450 sq yd commercial plot per acre
CRDA claims it allotted 69,421 plots, registering 61,753 of them so far. But what the documents now reveal has left the farmers stunned.
Official records reveal the truth: “your plot is in the tank bed”
Pitchukalapalem Example
RSR (Resurvey & Resettlement) records show:
- Survey No. 87: 11.25 acres (tank)
- Survey No. 88: 0.31 acres (tank)
- Survey No. 89: 0.59 acres (tank)
Yet 78 residential plots have been registered here — after describing tank land as “assigned land.”
Similarly, in Thullur:
- Survey No. 80: 33.06 acres registered as tank land in Meebhoomi. But CRDA allotted plots to 65 persons here, including, farmers allege, TDP sympathisers and leaders.
Farmers now fear future demolition orders, questioning: “If tanks are encroached today, who will protect our homes tomorrow?”
NGT & supreme court orders flouted
Both the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal have repeatedly ruled:
- Tanks, canals, streams, and water bodies cannot be diverted or converted
- Governments must protect water bodies in full
Yet Chandrababu’s administration:
- Converted tank beds into residential layouts
- Built the Seed Access Road through water channels
- Encroached natural drainage paths in a flood-prone region
Environmental experts warn this will intensify future flooding in Amaravati and violate core environmental safeguards.
“Our land is gone. Now even our plots are under water.”
Farmers who once cultivated multi-crop fields now feel betrayed at every stage, their lands taken, their trust broken, and their promised plots submerged in controversy. Many say the government has “stabbed them in the back,” turning their lives into misery.
