Amaravati Becomes Chandrababu's Real Estate Cash Cow

What began as a bold vision for a world-class capital is now being slammed as a colossal real estate enterprise in disguise.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu is once again at the center of a storm — this time for allegedly repurposing Amaravati’s capital development into a massive land monetisation scheme that critics say benefits private players far more than the public.

From the outset, opposition parties — most vocally the YSR Congress — along with civil society watchdogs and former bureaucrats like EAS Sarma and IYR Krishna Rao, have raised red flags over Naidu’s Amaravati model. Their accusation is clear: the project is less about governance infrastructure and more about facilitating a land economy under the guise of capital development.

The numbers speak volumes. Of the roughly 37,000 acres pooled from farmers, only a fraction — around 2,000 to 3,000 acres — has been used for actual government infrastructure, including the secretariat, legislature, high court, and housing for officials. Another 2,000 to 3,000 acres have been handed over to central institutions and allied establishments.

But the remaining land? It’s being steadily funneled into the hands of private corporations — real estate developers, hotel chains, IT parks, and educational ventures — essentially transforming Amaravati into one of India’s most lucrative property ventures, critics argue.

Now, fresh reports reveal that the Naidu administration is planning to acquire an additional 30,000 to 40,000 acres — this time citing infrastructure projects like an Outer Ring Road, international airport, and key transit corridors.

But sources within the system paint a very different picture. They claim the real motive is not infrastructure but income — selling high-value land parcels to generate cash, ostensibly to pay off mounting loans from the World Bank, HUDCO, and private financiers.

This alleged land laundering — wrapped in the language of development — is being viewed as a ticking time bomb. Activists warn that it could unleash a new wave of corruption and crony capitalism, with public land being repackaged and sold for private profit, while the original promise to farmers and citizens stands betrayed.

Worse still, insiders claim that officials at the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) have been instructed to quietly scout fresh tracts of land across villages in Guntur and Krishna districts — raising fears of coercion, displacement, and further erosion of public trust.

The opposition calls it the biggest land scam in the making. Civil society fears it’s a textbook case of how infrastructure rhetoric can cloak backdoor deals. And for the thousands of farmers who surrendered their land in good faith, it’s beginning to look like a broken promise dressed up as development.

Amaravati, once envisioned as a symbol of progress, now risks becoming a monument to profiteering.