Will Amaravati farmers’ efforts go completely wasted?

The farmers of Amaravati willingly gave up their lands in Amaravati to the TDP government when the government promised that their lands would be used to develop a capital on par with international standards. The pact between the government and the farmers was even such that every farmer’s family would be allotted a compensatory plot or house in the city. However, none of this came to fruition once the Jagan government came into the picture.

Within a very short span of assuming power, the Jagan government announced its 3 Capitals plan, following which the farmers began their protests against the government. After more than 800 days of protests and multiple legal petitions, the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s verdict was in favour of the farmers, where it ordered the government to continue developing Amaravati as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh. Despite the judiciary’s orders, the Jagan government has today declared that it wouldn’t stand by the HC’s orders and that it would continue to stick to its 3 capitals plans.

Just when the farmers of Amaravati started to breathe a sigh of relief, this news comes as a major shock for them, which is equal to undoing all of their efforts for more than 800 days, as it positions them back to square one. This makes one think that the sentiments and efforts of the Amaravati farmers – who were among the many people that voted for the YSRCP government in the 2019 elections – mean next to nothing to the YSRCP government which seems more intent on satisfying its ego. It should now be seen what will happen here on.