Green cover is being wiped out for development of layouts on the Srikakulam- Vizianagaram- Visakhapatnam stretch, thanks to indiscriminate permissions being given for conversion of land for non-agriculture activity.
One cannot find groves on the National Highway anymore. In all, 400 new layouts, both authorised and unauthorised, have come up in the last two years on this route, which is part of the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway.
The spurt in real estate activity is attributed to proposals to establish an international airport at Bhogapuram and an atomic power plant at Ranasthalam.
People from different parts of Andhra Pradesh are reportedly investing heavily on this stretch in anticipation of quick returns. Land price now ranges between a whopping Rs.4,000 and Rs.7, 000 per square yard. The realtors are giving wide publicity about the ‘golden’ prospects that this route holds for investors.
With huge demand from buyers, the realtors are buying mango, cashew, and coconut groves from farmers and converting them into layouts. The ventures are not just confined to the highway. They can be seen on approach routes to villages.
The realtors are reportedly offering the farmers up to Rs.3 crore per acre. In all, 55,000 acres of land has turned into ventures in the last two years, according to officials.
The A.P. Stamps and Registration Department has earned Rs.165 crore as against Rs. 148 crore in Vizianagaram and Rs.82 crore as against Rs.58 crore in Srikakulam districts, indicating spurt in land transactions in the areas such as Etcherla, Ranasthalam, Pydibhimavaram, Pusapati Rega, Natavalasa, Bhogapuram, and Tagarapuvalasa.
Srinivas Rao of CREDAI, Vizianagaram, says that many realtors are investing heavily in and around Bhogapuram, the area where the airport is proposed, and on stretches close to the National Highway expecting huge returns. “But they can land in trouble if the demand from buyers plummets as farmers are demanding huge amounts for parting with their land. Artificial demand is not good for buyers and realtors as well.”
The developers are axing trees to develop plots and create infrastructure such as roads and drainage.
As per the Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Act-2002, permission is needed to cut any tree. But the rule seems to be ignored as the government has no information about trees in private lands.
Revenue and Urban development authorities blame each other for wiping out of the greenery.
The Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, which oversees layout permissions in the three districts, says it approves layouts only after Revenue Department gives NOC for usage of land for non-agriculture activity.
Both the departments are reportedly concentrating on generation of revenue instead of preserving greenery even after the development of layouts.
When contacted, Srikakulam Revenue Divisional Officer B. Dayanidhi said that the realtors would be asked to plant trees in the number equal to the ones they cut to develop the layouts.
