A news report in Sakshi newspaper has revealed how TDP leaders-ministers, MPs and family members of chief minister Naidu, resorted to ‘insider trading’ and purchased lands in and around the emerging capital Amaravati at throw away prices from the poor farmers and dalits. The purchase spree took place just before the announcement of location of the capital at Amaravati. According to the report, all these bigwigs were privy to the capital location before it was made public because of their proximity with chief minister Naidu, said the report.
The report of alleged purchase of about 25000 acres, which exposed TDP top brass, including party national general secretary Nara Lokesh, created a sensation in the state today. Because, to regularize their purchase of assigned lands, the government is moving amendments to assigned lands act. As per the existing law selling and purchasing the assigned lands is banned.
Though there has been talk that CM Naidu has unleashed ‘insider trade’ in the capital region, political parties could not produce any evidence. Now, Sakshi, a newspaper owned by opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy, exposed the ” insider trading” in the capital project. After purchasing the land, the government ensured that their lands did not come under capital project. According to the report while the lands inside capital are owned by the government, outside by a handful of rich TDP leaders and family members of Naidu. In essence, the capital belongs to a few corporate companies and rich businessmen.
In the backdrop of MLAs desertions from YSRCP, allegedly engineered by TDP, Sakshi published a page-one story with a title “Capital Invaded” about how influential in the government forced the farmers part with their lands.
The cabinet , which met this morning took cognizance of the news report, that named the benamis and the TDP leaders, Ministers and MPs behind the land purchases in the capital region. The names figured in the report are Nara Lokesh(party national general secretary), union minister Sujana Chaudary, state minister Ravela Kishore Babu, Prattipti Pullarao, Devineni Umamaheswar Rao , P Narayana, MP Muralmohan etc. The report said it was only the tip of the iceberg.
According to the report, while municipal minister, who is in-charge of capital construction project, purchased highest extent of land 3,129 acres, Nara Lokesh purchased 500 acres. Union minister Sujana Chaudari purchased 700 acres. Among others are Devineni Uma ( 86 ares), Ravela Kishore Babu (55 acres) , Murali Mohan ( 53 acres), Pratipati Pullarao (196 acres) and another leader Kommalapati (42 acres).
The opposition YSRC party today accused chief minister Chandrababu Naidu of helping his family members and other important leaders of the party buy the land before the location of the capital announced. Though the cost of the land is in hundreds of crore, the TDP dignitaries purchased the land in the name of proxies at throw away prices.
The newspaper owned by the Jagan said the coterie of Naidu purchased about 25,000 acres in and around the capital. The paper said it had documentary evidence for all the purchases. The modus operandi, according to the report, is like this: the proxies of these leaders, ministers and MPs would get all information about the capital project and they approach the owners of the assigned lands and use all techniques to get the lands sold to them. Assigned lands are the lands given to dalits by the government decades ago.
These TDP leaders would approach the dalits and threaten them that their lands would become part of agrizone and rendered useless for them in future as no construction is allowed in the agrizones. Many farmers sold away their lands at the prices offered by these bigwigs of the ruling party.
According to the report, Vemuru Ravikumar purchased the lands on behalf of Nara Lokesh. This man is given important role in the government as well as advisor a couple of months ago. He bagged the fiber grid contract of the state for Rs 333 crore. For 500 acres, which cost about Rs 650 crore in the market, Ravikumar paid just Rs 50 crore.
union minister YS (Sujana) chaudary’s proxy is PA of his brother. They set up Kalinga Green Tech chemicals. Having got the capital location information from the government, the company purchased 700 acres of prime land at the rate of Rs 5 lakh per acre. The market value of this land is, according to Sakshi, Rs 700 crore. The amount Sujana’s company paid was just Rs 35 crore.
Dalit voice of Naidu’s cabinet , Ravela Kishore Babu was not lagging behind in stripping the members of his own community of their lands. He purchased 55 acres for Rs 5.5 crore, whose market value is Rs 82.5 crore. Instead of appointing a proxy Ravela got the lands registered straight away on his wife’s name-Ravela Santhi Jyothi. Agriculture minister Pratipati Pullarao purchased 196 acres of lands from dalits paying Rs 39 crore whose market value is Rs 784 crore.
YSR Congress alleged that after buying the lands illegally, the government is now planning to amend the act allowing the dalits to sell of their lands and regularization of lands already purchased by TDP leaders.
Similarly, the report also accused Chandrababu Naidu of colluding with Lingamaneni Estates promoters. While Naidu got the estates property for CM residence, the assets of Lingamaneni have been protected from being land-pooled for the capital.
Addressing media, party senior leader Botsa Satyanarayana demanded CBI inquiry into the purchase of assigned lands by the TDP ministers, MPs and Chandrabu family members. The party wants an inquiry into how the lands of TDP leaders and friends of chief minister have been protected and farmers were made to sacrifice their lands for the capital.
