Final Project Report Submitted to Azim Premji University

WORLD-CITY PLANNING IN ANDHRA PRADESH: A NEW MODEL FOR URBANISATION? Final Project Report submitted to Azim Premji University 5 March 2021 Bengaluru Carol Upadhya School of Social Sciences National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bengaluru 560012 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Coastal Andhra: Regional Political Economy, Identity and Social Structure 3. Spectacular Urbanism: Imaginaries and Realities of Development 4. Speculative Urbanism: Financialisation, Accumulation and Dislocation 5. Agrarian Urbanism: Recasting Land 6. Conclusion Acknowledgements References Appendices: 1. Research methodology 2. Research archive 3. Project outputs 1. INTRODUCTION On June 2, 2014, Andhra Pradesh (AP) was divided to create the new state of Telangana, the result of a long-drawn movement for a separate state. Under the terms of the bifurcation, Hyderabad would remain the joint capital of both states for ten years, but the newly elected Chief Minister of the residual state, N. Chandrababu Naidu, wanted to construct a new capital city and shift the administration out of Hyderabad as soon as possible. After much debate, a centrally located site in Guntur district was selected for the project – an agricultural area just across the Krishna River from Vijayawada (the second largest city in residual AP). To achieve his ambition of creating a well-planned, ‘world-class’ city, Naidu requested the Singapore government to help design the master plan. By February 2015, over 30,000 acres of agricultural land had been assembled through a land pooling scheme, and by early 2016 six large administrative blocks had already been completed and the process of moving government staff to ‘Amaravati’, as the new capital has been named, had begun. The Amaravati project represented a significant experiment in urban planning and development, employing a relatively novel mode of land acquisition and aspiring to create a modern city from scratch. This research project was initiated to track the unfolding of this ‘world- city’ project and the dramatic social and economic changes that it set in motion, focusing on the impacts on local communities. The aim was to document the variable outcomes of this ambitious ‘greenfield city’ project for different social classes and castes in the affected villages, especially for their livelihoods, prospects of social and economic mobility, and aspirations. The study also explored the wider implications of this model of planned (or forced) urbanisation and of the rapid transformation of agricultural land into urban real estate. The project, carried out over a period of 3½ years, was an in-depth, longitudinal study of the Amaravati project and its outcomes, building on work done by the author in the region from 2013. Objectives The specific objectives of the study, as delineated in the proposal, were: 1) To map the dynamics of urbanisation and land transformation in the new capital region of Andhra Pradesh, and the implications of this model of urban planning for the livelihoods, social welfare, and economic security of the affected communities: The study will document how rural communities and local economies are affected by land pooling and speculative investment, the disruption of agriculture, and urban development, focusing on the variable impacts of the 1 capital city project across social strata (especially landowning versus non-landowning classes). It will also explore how different groups or actors negotiate with the state and market, and how the project is shaping people’s visions for their futures and strategies for remaking their lives. 2) To understand the implications of ‘world-city’ planning and the land-based finance model for sustainable and equitable urban development: The study will examine the diverse processes and networks through which agricultural land is converted into urban real estate, within and outside the capital zone, the land pooling scheme and its impact on the land market, and the larger consequences of speculative investment in the region. To trace the complex intersections between state planning and real estate markets, the research will map the networks of local, regional and transnational actors that control land conversion and structure land markets.1 The project was carried out between July 2016 and December 2019. A mixed-methods research design was employed, combining extended ethnographic research and semi-structured and unstructured interviews with a wide range of respondents and interlocutors and collection of socio-economic data, policy documents and other sources. Field research was conducted by the principal investigator for periods of one to two weeks at regular intervals to track changes and developments over time, with the help of research assistants, who also carried out independent research in the region. (See Appendix 1 for research methods and Appendix 2 for a summary of the data collected.) Key findings and themes During the course of fieldwork, several themes emerged that appeared to be important for understanding the socio-economic impacts of the Amaravati project. These themes were pursued as particular foci of the research from the second year onwards, changing the course of the work somewhat and sharpening the research questions and findings: (1) Land and finance capital Documenting the financial architecture of the Amaravati project is key to understanding its implications for urban governance as well as processes of accumulation -- particularly how value is (or was supposed to be) extracted from land and captured, and by which actors. This is a 1 From the proposal submitted to Azim Premji Foundation. 2 complicated topic requiring information that is difficult to access. We tapped available data sources and used key informant interviews to document the land-based financing model employed by the state government, to trace how land was monetised through the land pooling system, and to understand the financial model for the project overall and how it was linked to the operations of the land market. The final analysis will also explore the implications of these forms of infrastructure financing for various actors and for the state exchequer. Part of this work has been published, while a comprehensive paper on this theme is in process. The paper is built around three case studies: a) the agreement signed between Ascendas-Sembcorp and ADCL to develop the ‘startup area’ of the new city (the deal subsequently fell apart but it remains an important case to examine); b) the terms of land allocation by the CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) to private entities within the capital zone; c) the controversy over loans from multilateral institutions, especially the World Bank (which withdrew from the project). The paper will examine how the financial model for the Amaravati project unfolded on the ground, against unanticipated political-economic realities – particularly unruly land markets, the operations of speculative capital, and the quotidian modalities through which land was financialised. (2) Land, caste and differential accumulation During the course of the research, caste emerged as central to the planning and execution of the Amaravati project as well as to its social consequences, operating as a major axis of accumulation as well as marginalisation and inequality. This theme represents a refinement of objective 1 as outlined in the research proposal, but based on fieldwork findings we focused more closely on caste as a social structure of accumulation and how it is reworked in the context of urbanisation. The study explored in detail how caste structured transactions around land, enabling different groups to extract different levels and forms of value from land while disabling others. The local power of Kammas, their monopoly over land, and their close connections with the (former) state government enabled this community to extract the most benefits from the Amaravati project, through the land pooling scheme as well as the soaring land market and the new opportunities that were opened up by urbanisation. In contrast, Dalits were systematically excluded from 3 participating in or benefitting from the project, in different ways. To substantiate this argument, the analysis concentrates on two main sub-themes: a) Kamma caste and political networks and control over land: Through their caste and political networks and dominant position in terms of landholding in most capital region villages, members of the Kamma community derived the most advantage from the Amaravati project, indicating that caste-based control over land opens up new paths of accumulation in the context of urbanisation. However, with the defeat of the Telugu Desam Party in the May 2019 Assembly election, the social power of Kammas was severely undermined, providing a telling twist to the processes that we were studying. A forthcoming paper will explore how Kamma ‘land pooling farmers’ have responded to the decision of the new state government (led by the YSR Congress Party) to change the capital location and deprive them of their expected future gains from the Amaravati project. It will also discuss how Dalits and other castes have sought to reassert themselves in the changed political context. b) Dalit land struggles: Dalits in several capital region villages were engaged in different kinds of struggles – to get just compensation for their lands under the land pooling scheme, or to recoup land that had been ‘sold’ to upper caste actors at low rates prior to the announcement of land pooling. Since many Dalits held only assigned lands, they were marginalised as beneficiaries of the project and had to engage in a protracted struggle with the state government, district authorities and the CRDA for recognition of their rights. Moreover, because they often did not have the documents needed to prove ownership and avail of the land pooling package, many had sold their lands to Kammas at low prices. The analysis of these struggles is set against the history of caste-structured agrarian relations in the region. The paper (under review) focuses on case studies of conflicts around lanka lands and assigned lands in two villages.

Load more