AP CM Naidu Releases White Paper on Land Grabs in State Under YSRC Term

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has accused the previous dispensation of exploitation and loot of natural resources, lands and minerals. “There were many instances of land grabs in Visakhapatnam, Ongole and Chittoor under the guise of house construction,” Naidu said on Monday.

The Chief Minister asked the public to give more information about the “robbery” of natural resources, and said a toll-free number will be started for this purpose soon.

For record and for public consumption, the Chief Minister released a White Paper at the Secretariat, explaining the exploitation of natural resources in the previous government.

Naidu said, “According to the statistics available till now, 1.75 lakh acres of land worth Rs.35,000 crore has been illegally occupied. The Land Titling Act was brought in (by the YSRC government) with a lot of ego. People realised the bad intentions of that law. I am requesting the people to check the status of their lands.”

“We shall take action. We will make people afraid of land grabbing hereafter. If anyone’s lands and properties are seized, a complaint should be made to the government. We will copy here the land grabbing law of Gujarat for the protection of lands," Naidu said.

He said, "Victims of mines should come forward. Red sandalwood was illegally sent to China. The previous government motivatedly reduced the number of the red sandalwood task force staff. Smugglers were encouraged. All the people should come together for the conservation of public and private lands.”

“The underground mineral wealth should be utilised for the benefit of the society. We will punish the anacondas that swallowed the forests," he said.

The Chief Minister said, "A large-scale land scam has taken place in the state during the term of the YSRC government. Mineral wealth and forest wealth were looted. According to the records available to us, there has been more looting.”

“Financial terrorists have chosen an innovative method of exploitation. The natural resources’ exploitation in Visakhapatnam, Ongole, Chittoor and Tirupati is a case study. Abuse of power was committed at will in the name of house construction, under the ‘housing for the poor’ scheme.”

Naidu said, “Lands were identified in advance and bought at a low price and sold to the government at double the price. In 26 districts, palaces have been built in such lands for the YSRC offices.”

“Assigned lands were arbitrarily allotted to the ineligible. Land boundaries were changed in the name of land survey. The Land Titling Act was brought to deprive the landowners of their rights. The land given to Ramanaidu's studio in Visakhapatnam was illegally classified as a residential, seeking a share, and the dispute is in the Supreme Court. Apartments were built illegally on Dasapalla lands of 10.57 acres by former MP M.V.V. Satyanarayana. A scam in TDR bonds worth `65 crore was committed.”

Explaining YSRC illegalities, the Chief Minister said, “Properties worth Rs.101 crore were illegally occupied in Ongole through false documents, vis-a-vis government and vacant lands. Some 77 persons were found guilty in this case.”

“There is another strange situation in Tirupati. The lands of the Mutt were also looted. Some 4.5 acres in Tiruchanaru, 27.14 acres in Mangalam, 3.32 acres in Daminidu, 1.33 acres in Chiguruwada, 12.69 acres in Surappakasam, 15.28 acres in Kotamangalam and 7.98 acres in Durgasamudra were encroached.”

“Further 982 acres were encroached in Chittoor district, after (the government ) removed the lands from the prohibition list.”

Pointing out that 8,086 acres of land that should belong to the poor in the state has been allotted to the ineligible, the Chief Minister explained, “3,357 persons got 5,796 acres in Kadapa district, 856 persons in Kurnool district got 1,145 acres, 3,471 persons got 5,554 acres in Anantapur district, 84 persons got 103.15 acres in Annamayya district and 318 persons got 483 acres in Nandyal district worth Rs.13,000 crore.”