A. Ranga Reddy, Professor Emeritus of Economics at S.V. University, has cautioned that conversion of fertile lands for construction of capital would lead to food shortage in the long run.
Dr. Ranga Reddy, who was here to attend a conference, said the concrete would not stop with the 30,000 acres acquired by the government but would devour the entire alluvial belt in Krishna, Guntur and West Godavari districts.
He said when an option existed with the government, it should have chosen low-quality soils and non-agriculture waste lands for the capital. The idea of river front city will cause heavy pollution of water sources which the government could not handle.
He said the government had committed another blunder by arbitrarily choosing Thullur as capital saying that it should have studied the spirit of Sri Bagh pact which was the basis for Rayalaseema joining the Andhra State. Otherwise, the leadership from Rayalaseema preferred remaining with Madras state in the past. He felt that the government had opened Pandora’s Box by its decision on the location of the capital. Water sharing would also be a contentious issue with Rayalaseema expecting a larger share in the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.
‘The idea of river front city will cause heavy pollution of water sources’
