Absence of reconstituted plots hits realty sector

GUNTUR: The lack of clarity regarding the location and sizes of reconstituted plots and the slow start to development work were said to be the main causes of the slump in the realty business. In the beginning, buyers who wanted to live in the Amaravati capital region had purchased land but the repeated postponement of plot distribution had disappointed them.

Sources in the realty sector said the plinth size and area are important to purchasers but the CRDA had not finalised the details. The current slowdown would persist till the details are announced, they said. Indicating the magnitude of the slowdown, the Mangalagiri sub-registrar office could earn only Rs 258.52 crore against the targeted Rs 640.61 lakh. The Tadikonda sub-registrar’s office fared worse, earning Rs 63.52 lakh against the target of Rs 178.42 lakh.

The CRDA has started ground clearance works in the areas acquired by land pooling, but only a few hundred acres of farmland have been cleared against the 33,000 acres that was collected. The CRDA constructed roads during the Amaravati capital  foundation ceremony  which was held on October 22 last year but  it did not start any development works excluding the temporary secretariat complex.

Several farmers who had taken to real estate trading hoping for a boom but few could earn well last year. One of them, Mr G. Naresh, said no one had purchased for two months. He said the CRDA failed to even clear the pooled farmlands and mark roads and reconstituted plots. He said the realty sector would boom again after work starts on the Amaravati capital seed access road from Vijayawada to Borupalem and reconstituted plots are distributed. CRDA officials said the draft on plot sizes would be released on After issuing LPS notifications, the CRDA would start plot distribution which would take another month.