Hyderabad: As many as 34 farmers, who parted with their lands for construction of the capital city Amaravati, left for Hyderabad to take a flight to Singapore on Monday. Flagging off their vehicle at the Secretariat here in the morning, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the farmers’ visit to the island nation was intended to give them an exposure to the phenomenal success achieved by it after separation from Malaysia just over five decades ago.
It was an opportunity for the farmers to explore the diverse business opportunities in Singapore in which they could invest a part of the financial benefits they have reaped by giving their lands under the pooling scheme.
The Chief Minister said he had promised to develop the capital city on the lines of Singapore which faced similar difficulties as Andhra Pradesh due to bifurcation and vowed to keep his word.
He observed: “The government is indebted to the farmers for parting with their lands when it was scouting for a place for building the capital city on the back of a confusing report submitted by Sivaramakrishnan Committee”.
The government was convinced that the capital should be located at a central location and it was happy that the farmers in the Vijayawada-Guntur region came forward to give their lands notwithstanding the misinformation campaign that was unleashed by YSR Congress Party.
Mr. Naidu cautioned them against falling prey to the evil designs of those trying to throw a spanner in the capital project, lest they should face the consequences including landing in jail.
Mr. Naidu said the farmers deserved full appreciation for reposing confidence in him and taking the bold step of giving their lands, for which they were aptly rewarded in the form of developed residential and commercial plots and monetary benefits.
Mr. Naidu said it was his intention that the farmers should become entrepreneurs by learning from the dramatic transformation of the once small fishing enclave which Singapore was, into an economic powerhouse.
He said global consultant McKinsey & Company was roped in to guide the farmers in improving their living standards by grabbing the opportunities that were set to come their way as Amaravati develops into a world-class city.
The idea behind sending the farmers to Singapore was to enable them to be prepared to make the best use of the development that was poised to take place in their vicinity, he added.