Amaravati is set to witness a fresh phase of urban expansion with the Andhra Pradesh government issuing a new set of land pooling rules aimed at areas beyond the Capital City Area. The revised Land Pooling Scheme Rules, 2025, seek to consolidate additional parcels in the wider Capital Region for upcoming infrastructure projects. While the original scheme under 2015 rules still governs the city centre, the latest notification reflects a broader strategy to fast-track the creation of a people-centric capital.
The LPS, a cornerstone of the state’s decentralised urban development model, consolidates fragmented landholdings voluntarily surrendered by private owners into planned infrastructure zones. The latest rules, named the A.P. Capital Region Land Pooling Scheme (Formulation and Implementation) Rules, 2025, are aimed at acquiring and developing parcels in newly integrated Mandals, villages, and towns situated outside the core capital zone. This recalibration aligns with the Capital Region Development Authority’s (CRDA) broader jurisdiction, which has expanded from the original 7,068 square kilometres to over 8,352 square kilometres following administrative reorganisation. These changes stem from a series of amendments to the A.P. Capital Region Development Act, 2014, which legally empowers the state to regulate urban expansion and infrastructural provisioning in the designated capital region.
According to officials familiar with the framework, the new rules are designed to streamline the pooling of additional land for specific infrastructure and urban utility projects, ensuring that development remains people-centric, sustainable, and in line with master plans. The CRDA’s land pooling model had initially gained national attention for its participatory approach, avoiding forceful land acquisition while providing landowners with reconstituted plots and annuity support. Now, with the focus shifting to regions beyond the CCA, the government is expected to facilitate similar benefits for new stakeholders, including semi-rural communities whose land may be vital for planned logistics hubs, road corridors, and public amenities.
Urban planners and policy observers see the updated rules as a signal of renewed momentum in Amaravati’s long-stalled capital development plans. Over recent years, ambiguity over the status of the capital project had created an investment vacuum, slowing private participation and delaying critical infrastructure work. The new LPS rules are expected to send a clear signal to developers, lenders, and citizens that the capital region’s growth is back on the policy front burner.