The land issue at Settipalle, which had plagued Tirupati's real estate and agricultural sectors for almost five decades, has finally seen a lasting solution reached by the district officials.

No wonder the solutions for the Settipalle issue hogged the limelight when Tirupati District Collector S. Venkateswar showcased it at the recently concluded Collectors’ Conference. It was declared the fourth-best initiative.

Once considered a ‘controversial Inam village’, Settipalle, spanning 636.38 acres on the outskirts of Tirupati, is all set to become a self-sustainable ‘model township’.

The use of Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) to solve the problem to the satisfaction of all stakeholders also garnered praises.

Mr. Venkateswar explained at the Collectors’ Conference that Settipalle was declared an Inam estate and taken over in 1979. However, the settlement operations remained incomplete. Coupled with multiple registrations and restrictions put under to Section 22 A, it made the land registration almost inpossible.

However, the Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) Chairman C. Divakar Reddy and Collector S. Venkateswar brought the issues to the notice of the Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and proposed the township model as a solution.

As a result, 2,111 plots were developed to accommodate 823 beneficiaries, each to get two cents of land, while the e-dip system was used to ensure transparency in the allocation of sites to beneficiaries.

The Chief Minister launched the same on January 15 this year, while the government waived off the stamps and registration charges.

While TUDA has got 65 acres as its share, the sale proceeds, which are expected to touch ₹250 crore, will be used to develop cement roads, sewage treatment plant, underground drainage system, drinking water and electricity and crematorium, according to Mr. Divakar Reddy.

The Tourism Department will get 90 acres of land worth ₹400 crore.

Mr. Venkateswar says that the initiative will create assets worth ₹1,100 crore for the beneficiaries.