The Andhra Pradesh government has approved the transfer of 9.96 acres of government land in Nuzvid town and mandal in Eluru district to the Director of the Horticulture & Sericulture Department for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM). The government issued a G.O. in this regard on December 31, 2025.
Special Chief Secretary G. Sai Prasad, in the G.O., said that the land is to be leased for 33 years on a free-of-cost basis. The lease will carry the ‘usual conditions’ under the State’s land policy (BSO‑24) and other laid down rules.
Referring to the Eluru District Collector’s letter, Mr. Sai Prasad stated that the Collector had originally proposed allotting the land on a paid lease. In the letter dated August 23, 2025, he recommended leasing the 9.96-acre site to the IIPM at a rate of 10% of ₹1.37 crore per year (approximately ₹3.7 lakh annually), with a 10% rent hike every five years.
Meanwhile, the IIPM’s Director (based in Bengaluru) wrote to the government on December 2, 2025, requesting a rent waiver. The letter appealed that the 9.96-acre site be allotted free of cost, or failing that at a token rent ‘as a special case in public interest’. Citing this plea and the stated public interest, the government agreed to waive the rent entirely.
The government imposed several conditions accompanying the allotment. The government specified that the land must be used only for the intended purpose (plantation management education) and cannot be sub‑leased or transferred to any other party, without explicit government approval.
The existing roads on the land are to remain undisturbed, and any environmentally sensitive features (such as water bodies) must be preserved in their natural state. The order also requires that the IIPM commence use of the site within three years; failure to do so, or any violation of the terms, empowers the District Collector to cancel the lease and resume the land.
The goverment also emphasised strict safeguards for water bodies: they are “not recommended for alienation”, and no construction or alteration is allowed on or over them.
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
