The State government’s plans to acquire vast chunk of lands for constructing the Capital city has hit the realty sector in Krishna and Guntur districts. The worst affected are those having lands abutting the Krishna river.
Land prices have reportedly dropped by at least 30 per cent from Gollapudi to Telangana State border in Krishna district; and from Kanaka Durga Varadhi to Amaravathi in Guntur district, reflecting a stark contrast from the situation a few months ago when the land prices soared new heights.
The prices went through the roof and hovered around Rs. 3 crore to Rs. 5 crore per acre soon after the government announced that the Capital would be built in Vijayawada region.
An acre of land (along the river side) used to be sold around Rs. 50 lakh to Rs.1 crore a year ago. From a quoted price of Rs. 3.5 crore an acre a couple of months ago, the price reportedly dropped to Rs. 2 crore an acre in the recent past, which the farmers consider it as loss.
Prospective buyers are scared of the government assertion that land would be acquired if the farmers did not come forward for land pooling.
Investors feel that land pooling or land acquisition would take a toll on their investments, says Gadde Rajling, Chairman of Greater Vijayawada Builders Association.
There are no buyers even if farmers are ready to close the deal. At places like Kanchikacherla, an acre used to cost Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh a year ago. The prices touched Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 70 lakh. With a few takers, now the prices have come down to Rs. 35 lakh per acre.
The quoted price is Rs. 2 crore per an acre for the land close to Highway in Kanchikacherla and Veerulapadu mandals. But, hardly four or five transactions have taken place so far. More so, those transactions have not taken place in the recent past. There is a downward trend after government’s decision to acquire lands, says a document writer at Kanchikacherla.
