Amaravati: YSR Congress Party president and Opposition Leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday demanded market price for the lands being acquired by the government from farmers for the construction of the capital city.

YS Jagan met the victims who lost their lands in the capital region development area at Kanakadurga Varadhi in Vijayawada and assured them all support until they get their lands back or a fair compensation on par with market price for their lands.

Lashing out at chief minister Chandrababu Naidu for forcibly acquiring land from poor farmers in the name of capital city construction, YS Jagan said the resistance by the land owners is reasonable as they are being deprived of their livelihood. "When the land in the capital region area is being sold at Rs15 crore per acre, the government is paying farmers just Rs15 lakh," Jagan said and the vowed to take up the issue until they get justice. Also, the government is imposing restrictions on the sale of the land, he said and added that there are no such pre-conditions on sale of land by TDP cadre. He questioned the dual process adopted by the state government is purchasing land from TDP loyalits and from farmers.

Stating that YSRCP is bound to come to power in the 2019 Assembly polls, he said the YSRCP will ensure that every farmer who contributes land for the capital city will be given a fair compensation. “Besides adequate compensation, the farmers who have lost their land will be properly rehabilitated,” YS Jagan said.