CMO Inquires Into Destruction of Erra Matti Dibbalu

Visakhapatnam: On orders of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), revenue and GVMC officials led by joint-collector K. Mayur Ashok visited the Erra Matti Dibbalu site near Bheemili of Visakhapatnam. They checked out the damage caused at the environmentally sensitive site.

The visit follows a report in Deccan Chronicle and complaints by environmentalists to Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on heavy machinery being used to level the area.

The joint collector asked officials to form monitoring teams in the area and prevent all further activities on the said land. He ordered the removal of a shed on the land, which had been constructed on government land.

According to reports, Bhimunipatnam Aided Cooperative Building Society is levelling the site by bringing external gravel to develop roads on the layout and form housing plots.

Anticipating action from the government, the society relocated all construction machinery and lorries from the site.

Bheemili MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao visited and inspected the site. He said excavations in the area have been going on for past six months.

The MLA emphasised that all activities on the land have now been stopped. “The government will be transparent in the matter,” he stated.

Ex-minister G. Amarnath charged that illegal excavations at the Erra Matti Dibbalu had started during Telugu Desam regime’s tenure.