Real estate boom has returned to Donakonda, which has been in the race for location of the Andhra Pradesh capital before it lost to Thullur in Guntur district, in the wake of reported rethinking in the YSRCP government on the suitability of Amaravati.
Having an indication on the possibility of Donakonda getting selected for the purpose in view of vast stretches of government land available in and around the village, a strategic air-strip during the British era, influential persons, including politicians and industrialists, started accumulating land in and around the village in Prakasam district after the bifurcation of the State. As a result, the price of land went up to ₹10 lakh per acre in 2014 before falling to about ₹5 lakh per acre once the Chandrababu Naidu government zeroed in on Thullur for building a world-class capital.
Now again the sleepy village is witnessing a flurry of activity with investors from different parts of the State, including Rayalaseema, making a beeline for the place to purchase farmland after Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana raised questions over the suitability of Amaravati in the wake of heavy floods in the Krishna earlier this month.
The price of farmlands in Donakonda used to rule at ₹1-1.5 lakh per acre before the Sivaramakrishnan Committee began the exercise of visiting different parts of the State to make recommendations to the government.
Hot favourite
Deals have been struck for purchase of land close to the State highway in the range of ₹25-30 lakh per acre in the last 10 days, according to real estate sources.
However, a section of investors is adopting a wait and watch attitude expecting the State government to make a clear-cut announcement in the wake of protests from farmers in the Amaravati region who had parted with their land for the Capital.
