It is official now. The new Agricultural University proposed for the State will come up on the land abutting the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Lam, on the Guntur-Amaravathi Road.
Minister for Agriculture Prathipati Pulla Rao on Monday said the government had zeroed in on Lam, as it was centrally located.
He also inspected the land along with MLAs, District Collector Kantilal Dande and Associate Director of Research (RARS) Eedara Narayana.
Mr. Rao said plenty of land was available in and around Lam (The total available area is 900 acres).He added that the Centre was committed to the establishment of Agricultural University at Lam and had already sanctioned Rs. 50 crore.
Blue printThe district administration is preparing a blue print for setting up the university, which, though funded by Centre, will be administered by the State government.
RARS was established at Lam, a village named after a Buddhist monk named Lamas, in 1922 along with a Buffalo Research Station in an area of 300 acres of reserve forest land allotted by the government. Both stations functioned as a single unit till 1928.
Established with a mandate to improve dry land crops like cotton, tobacco, chilli and millets, RARS was upgraded to the zonal headquarters of the Krishna- Godavari Zone and later as head quarters of the Krishna Zone comprising Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna Districts.
The Minister told reporters that there was no short supply of seeds and fertilizers and assured farmers that supply and distribution of seeds would begin soon.
