Former MLA and senior TDP leader B K Parthasarathi on Wednesday said that the Lepakshi Knowledge Hub land scam in Anantapur district in the State reflects the under-hand dealings of the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Parthasarathi told media persons at the party headquarters here that it is highly deplorable that Jagan Reddy’s father, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, during his tenure as the chief minister, allocated 8,844 acres at Kudikunda of Chilumattulur mandal in Anantapur district to Indu Projects at a very low price of Rs 50,000 per acre in the name of Lepakshi Knowledge Hub. The Indu Project, in its report to the then State government stated that if 10,000 acres is allotted to the company it will develop the area industrially. Based on this report, Rajasekhara Reddy allocated the land to the project at a throw away price.
“But the Indu Projects neither launched any industry nor developed the area. But it mortgaged those lands to raise Rs 4,531.44 cr as loan. The company has invested part of this amount in some of the units owned by Jagan,” Parthasarathi said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached these properties on cases lodged against Mr Jagan and the Indu Project ran into bankruptcy following which it made it clear to the banks that it cannot repay the loans, he pointed out.
What is surprising is that another company, called Erthics, offered to pay Rs 500 cr to the banks to clear the debts of Indu Projects and the bank had diverted the land in the name of this Erthics company. This clearly means that the lands worth Rs 4,000 cr is diverted to the Erthics company for a mere Rs 500 cr, he said and suspected the hand of Jagan and his party MP Vijaya Sai Reddy behind this whole scam.
The illegal assets accumulated by Jagan and Vijaya Sai Reddy, through liquor mafia have been diverted through this Erthics company, the TDP leader stated. The fond hopes of the villagers who sacrificed their land have been belied, he added.
However, after Chandrababu Naidu became the chief minister, the South Korean-based Kia company has launched its unit in Anantapur investing Rs 13,000 cr generating 30,000 jobs. Following this the cost of the lands in Penugonda and neighbouring areas went up, he said and demanded that Jagan and Vijaya Sai Reddy give back these lands to the original owners if they do not have any role in this scam. The Reserve Bank of India, the ED and the CBI too should inquire the whole issue to bring the facts to light, he stated.
