Hyderabad: Film star and Jana Sena President Pavan Kalyan, under pressure from various quarters to come to the rescue of farmers facing losing land to the proposed capital of Andhra Pradesh, said that it would be better if farmers voluntarily surrender lands.

“But if the government forcibly takes them over under land acquisition act, the farmers should not be scared. I will fight on their behalf,” he told the farmers at Betapudi, one of the villages of Guntur district where farmers were resisting the hand over of their land to the government.

Pavan Kalyan assured farmers that if need be he was ready to go on fast unto death to secure their interest.

“I don’t know anything about land acquisition act but forcibly taking over lands will not be acceptable”, he said while interacting with the farmers.

The actor raised several questions like whether the new capital requires 33000 acres and when building the capital will be completed when the Center has not given AP the special category status. He asked the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to speak up on these issues.

Farmers from Thullur, Undavali, Errabelem, and other villages participated in the interaction and shared their problems and apprehensions with Pavan Kalyan.

“there is no need for turning villages in to the cities”, he said.

Coming close on the heels of YSR Congress president YS Jagan’s visit of the capital region, Pavan Kalyan targeted the former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy alleging that government lands were indiscriminately sold and allotted to private parties during his regime.

Meanwhile Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also urged the farmers to come forward and surrender their lands in the area of proposed capital. “The new capital will only benefit the farmers”, he said in Hyderabad today. “It is for a better future for the entire state.”

Naidu was addressing a press conference after meeting a delegation of industrialists from Japan. “Developing a new city does not mean only building some offices. The proposed capital will be a world class city with all the facilities,” he said.

He cautioned that if problems were created on the issue of land, farmers will be the sufferers. Naidu said that some people were unwilling to hand over their lands hoping to sell them at a higher price after the capital was built.

Procuring 33000 acres of land for the capital was an unprecedented even in the history, Naidu added. “Farmers have come forward to give their lands voluntarily,” he said. On the opposition to land procurement from some of the parties, he advised them to have farsightedness. “Left parties are saying 1000 acres will be sufficient for new capital but they want 10 acres for their own party offices,” Naidu said.

On starting the work of the new capital, Naidu said that Singapore will submit the master plan in June.