Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday declared that a land policy would soon be unveiled by making farmers and others stakeholders in its development for building the new capital city and other smart cities in the State.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Naidu said wherever the capital city would come up, the land value of farmers was bound to go up by three to four times and nobody would be put to loss. It would be a kind of a win-win situation for both the government as well as farmers.
The details whether it would be 50:50 or 60:40 partnership were being worked out for the proposed policy.
Indicating that land for capital city was available between Guntur and Vijayawada, he said if the farmers living there did not accept the land policy, the government would look elsewhere for land development. He said the idea was to have a central location and convenient for all.
Mr. Naidu said one of the best capital cities with decentralised development would be built. A capital city should be lively and have social life, besides economic activity, education, entertainment and shopping areas.
He said that at least 10 of the proposed 100 smart cities which the Union Government was planning to develop would be in Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister said the first Cabinet meeting being held at Visakhapatnam on June 12 will decide on increasing the retirement age of Government employees from 58 to 60.
He said he was not seeking favours from the Centre but want a level-playing field created through policy changes as great injustice was done to Seemandhra in the wake of the division of the State.
Slams KCRMr. Naidu hit out at his Telangana counterpart, K. Chandrasekhar Rao for objecting to the Polavaram project and asked: “ In what way he is concerned with it”. He said even Telangana would benefit by the project and observed that it was not proper to obstruct the project. He recalled that Mr. Rao met Congress president, Sonia Gandhi along with his family members after the ordinance was sent by the previous UPA government to the President and did not raise any objection then.
Defending the decision to constitute a committee to work out the modalities on loan waiver scheme, he said those without any administrative experience were also finding fault with it.
‘No office’“I have no place to sit, no office. It has to be readied,” Mr. Naidu said. He said the All India Services cadre allotment was not yet made and the blocks for Ministers were also not readied in Secretariat.
He said that he would initially function from Lake View guest house here as it might take some time for his office in Secretariat to be ready. In a lighter vein, he wondered whether he would have to operate from a house or shed when he is in Vijayawada.
