The promise of big bucks and a certain eagerness to give up the farming way of life is what contributed to a majority of the farmers in the proposed capital region of Andhra Pradesh giving up their land to the state. As of Monday , the state has secured consent letters from farmers for 22,220 acres for the construction of the capital as against the target of 30,000 acres. Apparently, as many as 12,343 of the 20,000 farmers in the region have given their consent.

With the state extending the deadline to give consent to February 28, AP officials were confident that the remaining 8,000 acres needed would be acquired by then. "This is the biggest land pooling exercise in the country . All the land pooled so far is private land, no government land has been acquired," Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) commissioner N Srikanth told TOI.

Majority of the farmers from Tulluru village cited many reasons for agreeing to part with their land. One was a wish to quit the hard toil of farming while another was the promise of a large lump sum of money .

"I am 38 years old now, I work hard day and night in the field and can expect money to only trickle in. Now, I am being offered a chance to make quick bucks and want to cash in on it," Kranti, a farmer from Tulluru, said.

Like Kranti, most farmers hardly needed much persuasion to part with their land. What seems to guide many is the tantalizing hope of clearing their debts and starting life anew. "I have piled up huge debts and am unable to marry off my children. Now, I hope to do so," said Raghunath Rao, a farmer from Krishnayapalem.

Another reason for wanting to bid goodbye to farming is that their children have taken to other professions.Sources said the children of many farmers have moved to Vijayawada or Hyderabad or even abroad. As a result, with no helping hands, at least 15 per cent of land owners here have given their land to tenant farmers for cultivation."Many farmers told us that their children want them to give up farming and move to the cities to lead a retired life," revenue officials said.

Yet another reason for the farmers to part with their land is that they belong to the Kamma community and are traditional supporters of the TDP . Of the 26 villages where the land pooling exercise is on, nearly 18 of them are dominated by the Kamma community .

But the battle is far from over for the state. While Tulluru and a few other villages have given their consent, many others are hardly willing to. This means that getting the remaining 8,000 acres will not be easy.