Rajahmundry: Holding that the TDP government should refrain from "traumatising" farmers to give up their multi-crop land, President of YSR Congress Party Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today said instead it should use degraded forest land for the purpose.

"We cannot allow the state government to do real estate business in the name of capital formation leaving the hapless farmers high and dry," the Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly told reporters here.

"When 3,000 acres of government land is available in Mangalagiri area itself, why the state should go after the fertile land unless it has ulterior motive," he asked.

"The capital city can be built in the 3,000 acres on lines of Singapore, Japan or any other place, lay roads and after zoning leave the agriculture land to farmers who will decide what they have to do," Reddy said.

The problem and resistance arises only in the acquisition of private land and the state should keep away from it and make use of the government land, he said.