Minister Narayana appeals farmers to join LPS for seed access road project in Amaravati

Vijayawada: Asserting that the state govt will be left with no option but to enforce the Land Acquisition Act, municipal administration and urban development minister P Narayana appealed to farmers to join the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) to complete the ongoing seed access road in the capital city. Narayana on Friday inspected the ongoing construction works of the steel bridge across the Buckingham Canal near Undavalli, which forms a crucial part of the Seed Axis Road project in the capital region.Speaking to the media on the occasion, the minister said that the seed access road, which connects key areas of the capital region, is being developed at a brisk pace. He, however, pointed out that a small land-related issue involving about 4.5 acres is still pending in the stretch that connects the seed access road to the Mangalagiri road.Narayana said that although the govt has the option of proceeding with land acquisition, it decided to give farmers another month's time to voluntarily come forward for land pooling. "We are appealing to the farmers even now to cooperate with the land pooling process. We decided to wait for another month before taking a final decision," he said.He made it clear that the authorities will initiate the process of land acquisition to ensure that the project progresses without delay if the farmers owning the remaining 4.5 acres do not come forward for land pooling by April 9. The minister said that the construction of the steel bridge across the Buckingham Canal is progressing rapidly, and the contracting agencies assured the govt that the works will be completed by the end of this month.He further explained that 2 more steel bridges are planned ahead of the Buckingham Canal stretch—one across the Guntur channel and another across the Kondaveeti Vagu. Once these two bridges are completed, the entire seed access road project will be effectively completed, significantly improving connectivity in the Amaravati capital region.Later, representatives of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani met minister Narayana and briefed him on the designs of the buildings proposed to be constructed on the upcoming campus in Amaravati. The BITS representatives explained the architectural designs and development plans for the campus buildings to the minister.The proposed BITS campus will be constructed on about 70 acres of land along the seed access road, between Mandadam and Venkatapalem. The Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani campus will be developed in 3 phases as an advanced AI+ campus with modern academic and research facilities. The BITS representatives also informed the minister that the first phase of the campus would be ready to start admissions within about 2.5 years.