AP Cabinet Raises Amaravati Land Pooling Annuity and Waives Farm Loans for Second-Phase Villages

What the Cabinet decided

The Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati, approved over 30 key agenda items, including two directly affecting Amaravati land-pooling farmers. In a major relief for Amaravati farmers, the Cabinet approved an increase in the annual annuity paid to Land Pooling Scheme beneficiaries for the next ten years, raising the rate for dry land owners from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 per acre, while owners of irrigated land will receive Rs. 60,000 per acre instead of the existing Rs. 50,000. On top of the new base rates, a proposal to increase the annual lease amount by ₹3,000 for dry lands and ₹5,000 for wet (Jaribu) lands, for farmers who have contributed or will contribute land, was approved, taking the total lease amount to ₹40,000 for dry land farmers and ₹60,000 for wet land farmers in the first year of the revision, with the same step-up repeating annually. The Cabinet enhanced the annual annuity for land pooling farmers to Rs 40,000 per acre for dry land and Rs 60,000 per acre for irrigated land, with annual increases of Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively over 10 years.

Separately, it was decided to waive agricultural loans of up to ₹1.5 lakh for farmers across seven villages who are contributing land under the second phase in Amaravati; this waiver applies only to loans taken before January 6, 2026. The government also approved implementation of the loan waiver scheme in seven villages of Guntur and Palnadu districts that fall under the Land Pooling Scheme, and the CRDA Commissioner has been authorized to frame the necessary implementation guidelines. A separate report notes June 1, 2026, has been fixed as the cutoff date for determining eligibility under the APCRDA Act for these benefits.

Who the annuity revision applies to

Under the latest government orders, the annual annuity for farmers who signed land pooling agreements on or after June 12, 2024, has been increased — dry-land owners will now receive Rs. 40,000 per acre per year, up from Rs. 30,000, while farmers who pooled irrigated land will continue to receive Rs. 60,000 per acre annually. Historically, under the original scheme, Amaravati farmers were paid Rs 50,000 per acre for Jareebu (fertile) lands and Rs 30,000 per acre for Metta (dry) lands, with an annual increase of 10 per cent — the new decision replaces that structure with fixed rupee step-ups instead of a percentage increase.

Second-phase villages and land involved

The loan waiver and much of the annuity revision are tied to Amaravati's second-phase land pooling, launched in January 2026. The municipal administration and urban development department entrusted the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) with acquiring a total of 16,666.57 acres of patta and assigned land across seven villages, covering four villages in Amaravati mandal of Palnadu district and three villages in Tullur mandal of Guntur district. In Amaravati mandal, the government permitted acquisition of 1,965 acres in Vaikunthapuram, 1,018 acres in Pedamaddur, 1,879 acres in Yandrai, and patta and assigned land in Karlapudi and Lemalle totalling 2,603 acres patta land and 51 acres assigned land. In Tullur mandal of Guntur district, the CRDA was directed to acquire 1,763.29 acres of patta and 4.72 acres of assigned land in Vaddamanu, 1,448.09 acres of patta and 2.29 acres of assigned land in Harischandrapuram, and 5,886.18 acres of patta land in Pedaparimi. In total, CRDA was mandated to acquire 16,562.52 acres of patta land and 104.01 acres of assigned land across the seven villages, with the process also covering 3,828.30 acres of government land identified within the notified areas.

Other Amaravati-related approvals in the same meeting

• Compensation for 307 acres of assigned (inam) lands was approved, with Rs 159 crore to be paid to the endowments department.
• A waiver of agricultural loans up to ₹1.5 lakh for landowners participating in the Land Pooling Scheme in seven villages was approved, applicable to loans availed before January 6, 2026 (this is the same waiver detailed above).
• The monthly subsistence allowance for 634 displaced families was doubled from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for a year.
• The Cabinet approved APCRDA land allotments for a large aquarium, the National Fisheries Development Board, the Isha Foundation, the Art of Living Foundation and the CII Global Leadership Centre.

Non-Amaravati items in the same Cabinet meeting

The same session also cleared several unrelated proposals. The Cabinet approved establishing a Special NIA Court in Visakhapatnam — a District and Sessions Judge level court with statewide jurisdiction for NIA cases — and sanctioned 16 posts for it, with salaries reimbursed by the Central government. On drinking water, the Cabinet sanctioned 10 major multi-village drinking water projects costing ₹9,355 crore, plus 2,943 drinking water schemes costing ₹1,811 crore for water-scarce areas. The meeting also approved the establishment of Ambedkar Gurukul Centres of Excellence in Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Nellore, and proposals to provide residential coaching for students preparing for IIT-JEE and NEET. On tourism, the Cabinet approved amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Policy by introducing a framework to promote concerts, music festivals and large-scale entertainment events.

Practical effect

For existing Land Pooling Scheme farmers, the decision means larger annual annuity cheques starting from the revised rates, with a guaranteed rupee-value step-up each year for a decade rather than the earlier percentage-based escalation. For the roughly 16,600 acres of land being pooled in the second phase, the loan waiver removes an outstanding financial obstacle — pending crop or agricultural loans up to ₹1.5 lakh taken before 6 January 2026 — that officials and farmer groups had cited as a hurdle to consent. Implementation detail (village-wise disbursement, bank coordination, and beneficiary verification) is to be worked out through guidelines that the CRDA Commissioner has been authorized to frame.