The AP high court on Tuesday issued notices to the state government and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) on payment of annuity to the Amaravati farmers. The farmers filed a petition in the court alleging that the government was not paying the annuity to them as promised by the previous government.

The previous government which pooled the farmers’ lands to build Amaravati capital had promised annuity of Rs 30,000 per acre to the dry lands and Rs 50,000 per acre for the wetlands. The APCRDA was made responsible to pay this annuity every year.

The farmers said that the present government was delaying the payment despite repeated requests. The Amaravati farmers association and the Capital farmers association have filed the petition seeking the court to direct the state government to pay the annuity without further delay.

It is to be seen how the state government would react to the notices given by the high court. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government is firm on having three capitals with Amaravati as the legislative capital. Though this was against the state government’s commitment given in writing to the farmers, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government is firm on moving the executive capital to Visakhapatnam.

There is a problem with the government’s plans on shifting the AP high court to Kurnool, which was named as the judicial capital. The state government and the high court have to take a common call on the issue.

The Central government had directed the chief minister and high court chief justice to sit across the table and resolve the issue. However, this did not happen in the last four years. It is to be seen how the state government would implement its three capitals’ plan.

It is also to be seen how the Amaravati farmers would react to the government’s plans on the issue, besides protecting their rights.