With the unrest among farmers in Amaravati over the capital issue flaring up gradually, YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy quickly sought to douse the fire by clearing the arrears of annuity payments to the farmers.
On Tuesday, Jagan approved the file releasing Rs 187.44 crore towards payment of yearly compensation to farmers who had given away their lands to the government under land pooling system.
According to officials, the GO has been released to this effect and payments would begin shortly. Actually, the payments have to be made in the month of April/May, but due to elections, they got delayed.
The indecision of the Jagan government over the capital region also resulted in the delayed payments.
But, the payments of annuity might temporarily silence the farmers, but Jagan has to take a decision on the capital issues at the earliest so as to remove the uncertainty.
It is learnt the chief minister will review the issue on August 29 and might come out with a plan of action, sources said.
