Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) : Land grabbing has become major menace in Visakhapatnam after the ruling YSRCP declared it as the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh. The land grabbers, who have support from the ruling party, encroach valuable lands, threaten owners, create disputes and snatch the lands by way of settlements.
In the last four and a half years, they have robbed lands worth about Rs 7,950 crores in Visakhapatnam. Many more such offences are yet to see the light of the day. Prajadarbar is a good system meant to solve people's problems but the YSRCP leaders misused it to grab lands. A leader who was number 2 in the YSRCP used to hold Prajadarbar in his own office. They took information from innocent petitioners and snatched their lands.
This number 2 leader ran a parallel government in Visakhapatnam three years ago. Real estate company owned by his daughter and son-in-law bought hundreds of acres of land. They acquired 87,714 square yards of land in 25 survey numbers along the proposed Bhogapuram Greenfield Airport Road.
Even the precious Dasapalla lands have been swallowed by the miscreants. Murthy Yadav, a local Janasena party leader, said that the plot of villa number 126 in the housing project undertaken in the name of Sriram Properties in Maduravada was registered with the Avyan Organisation. He alleged that the project was approved only after that.
As per reports, about 50 acres of land in the Rushikonda area worth about one thousand crore rupees went to YCP MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy and from there to Jagan's brother Anil Reddy. It is learned that one of Vemireddy and Anil Reddy's recently paid Rs 175 crore to his partner and sent him out and took over the entire project.
NCC lands worth 1,500 crore rupees were also grabbed by YSRCP leaders in Visakhapatnam. NCC acquired 97 acres of land belonging to Andhra Pradesh Housing Board in Maduravada in 2005 through bidding. But till 2013 no activities started there. When the then government cancelled the agreement and decided to take back the lands, the NCC went to court and got the status quo. In 2014, the TDP government again handed over the land to NCC with some conditions. When the YSRCP came to power, the eyes of the government leaders fell on those lands.
The Hayagriva lands have also fallen into the hands of the ruling party leaders. In 2008, the YS Rajasekhar Reddy government allotted 12.44 acres of government land to Chilukuri Jagadishwari's Hayagriva Organisation to build residential homes for the elderly, an old age home and an orphanage at Endada in Visakhapatnam. The rule is that the houses built there should be sold only to the elderly. Jagadishwar did not undertake any activities in that land. When the previous governments tried to cancel the land allotment, he went to the courts and got orders in his favour. After coming to power, the YSRCP leaders snatched these lands.
Those close to YSRCP leaders also took possession of the wellness centre project, which was built like a 5-star hotel named Baypark at Rushikonda. Baypark name is changed to Pema Wellness Center. Famous movie stars, industrialists, politicians and rich people come there for treatment and relaxation. For that project, in the year 2000, the then government released 28 acres on the hill and another 5.75 acres for a total of 33.75 acres for 33 years. The agreement is to pay an annual lease of Rs 10 lakh to the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. After YCP came to power, they got the son of a key leader. It is reported that the project has recently gone into the hands of the old owners due to recent adjustments. It seems that the YCP government is thinking of increasing the lease of this project to 99 years.
Also, some portion was taken from the lands earmarked for Rama Naidu's studio in Visakhapatnam. In 2003, the then government allocated 34.44 acres on the hill for the construction of Ramanaidu Studio on the Visakha-Bhimili beach road. While a studio was built in a part of it, the eyes of the YCP leaders fell on the vacant land. Another 15 acres worth 2 thousand crore rupees in Dasapalla lands went into the hands of YSRCP MP's closest friends.
The Karthikavanam project, which was undertaken two decades ago in Visakha, changed hands after YCP came to power. The then Visakha Urban Development Authority-Vuda took 4.1 acres from the forest department to undertake the Karthikavanam eco-tourism project in Endada between Kailasagiri-Rushikonda.
In the guise of service, lands worth crores were handed over to those close to the ruling party. A land worth Rs 300 crore in Rushikonda is owned by 'St Luke's', a minority education society run by YSR's sister Vimala Reddy. About 7.35 acres were allotted to that institution in 2009 when YS was CM.
MVV&MK Housing Company owned by Visakha MP MVV Satyanarayana has taken up a huge construction project in an area of 10.57 acres in Kurmannapalem. In respect of those lands in five different survey numbers, a development agreement was registered with 11 owners on January 8, 2018, with MVV General Power Attorney. Only 0.96 per cent is given to the landowners in such a huge project. Taking advantage of the loopholes and disputes in the ownership rights of those lands, MVV gave the smallest share to their owners and acquired the rest of the lands.
There are allegations that MP MVV has acquired all the land worth Rs 500 crores belonging to the CBCNC church in the heart of Visakha in the name of a benami company. CBCNC Church in Siripuram has a land of 19 thousand yards in Survey No. 75. Its market value is more than 500 crores.
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