Machilipatnam deep sea port: Procurement of pvt land to begin mid-Nov: K Ravindr

Andhra Pradesh minister K Ravindra said Saturday procurement of private land would begin by mid-November to speed up the proposed Machilipatnam deep sea port.

The minister also rubbished rumours that private landowners or farmers would have to pay the tax for the package received for parting with the land for the port project.

He clarified that the Andhra Pradesh government has exempted tax on packages for land procured for developmental projects, including the Polavaram Irrigation project.

In September, the Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had borrowed Rs 200 crore from the state mineral development corporation for purchasing the land from the farmers or private landowners, the minister said.

Of the required 2,200 acres of private land proposed for the port, the MUDA is yet to procurer over 1,500 acres of land to proceed with construction works of the port project, Ravindra said.

The state government, private landowners and farmers have agreed for Rs 25 lakh as a package for an acre under the Land Purchasing Scheme, he said.

Ravinder also said an official communication in this regard will be released soon in consultation with revenue authorities concerned.

The Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman B. Vedayas and Municipal Chairman M Babaprasad were also present at the presser.

(With inputs from agencies.)