AP govt. rejects land exchange request in Madhurawada

The request involved an exchange of 484.39 square yards of land in Survey No. 192/12P with a portion of the GVMC Butterfly Park, designated as open space under layout plan no. 05/1987. The proposal was initially brought to the attention of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) by the applicants who sought to facilitate the exchange for road connectivity purposes.

Special chief secretary Anil Kumar Singhal issued a memo stating that it is not permissible to transfer public park land to private entities. He emphasised that vacant spaces should be utilised for public utility works instead. This directive aligns with the existing government order, specifically G.O.Ms.No.72 from February 20, 2002, which mandates that reserved open spaces in urban layouts must remain dedicated to original purposes such as parks and community facilities and should not be repurposed for other uses.

The controversy began when the GVMC Council proposed transferring the park land during a meeting in October 2023 . Murthy Yadav opposed this decision in Andhra Pradesh High Court, arguing that previous Supreme Court and High Court rulings prohibited the conversion of park sites for private use. The High Court took note of Yadav's arguments and directed the state government to provide its stance on the matter.

In light of these regulations and the court's guidance, the government concluded that approving the land exchange would contravene established policies aimed at conserving urban green spaces. Consequently, it instructed the commissioner of GVMC to communicate this decision to both applicants and relevant stakeholders.