Process begins for return of SEZ land to farmers

Six villages out of KSEZ purview, ₹10 lakh per acre to be paid for assigned land

The Andhra Pradesh State government on Tuesday launched the exercise of returning 2,180 acres of land to the farmers from the controversial Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) by registering the land to them on the Kakinada coast in East Godavari district. In March, the State government had promised the return of lands along with exemption of stamp duty. The KSEZ is located in Thondangi and U. Kothappalli mandals. Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy told The Hindu that revenue teams on Tuesday began verification of the documents (land ownership/transfer) of farmers by visiting the villages as part of preparation for the land registration. The registration would be done as soon as the government issued a G.O. exempting payment of stamp duty for the process.