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Return Grabbed Municipal Lands Voluntarily: Minister Narayana

VISHAKHAPATNAM: Urban Development Minister P. Narayana has warned political leaders and others of strong action if they fail to hand over lands they grabbed or occupied in municipal parks and government lands.

Narayana was talking to the media on Tuesday during his visit to the waste-to-energy plant in Kapuluppada area.

Asked what action would be initiated against the YSRC leaders who threatened people in the name of the master plan and grabbed their land for a low price, the minister said an expert committee would study the master plan and how it was misused to occupy the lands.

Bheemili MLA and former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said if the people did not handover the lands they occupied, they would be seeing action similar to what was initiated by the Hyderabad Disaster Response Asset Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRA.

The minister along with Srinivasa Rao visited the waste-to-energy plant near the Kapuluppada dumping yard. The visit was part of the state's efforts to enhance waste management infrastructure.

Narayana noted that the Kapuluppada project was the first waste-to-wealth initiative in the state. He highlighted the successful models of Singapore and Tokyo, where multiple waste plants effectively served dense populations. “We must follow suit,” he said.

"Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu aims to establish one each waste plant across 13 joint districts. Currently, the Visakhapatnam plant with a capacity of 1,500 tonnes and the Guntur plant with 1,000 tonnes are operational," he noted.

Narayana alleged that AP suffered financial setbacks under the YSRC rule, and cited the state’s failure to utilize Rs 454 crore from the first instalment of the 15th Finance Commission for municipal development. This led to the withholding of an additional `300 crore by the Centre, he said.

He said the state lost Rs 298 crore in Swachh Bharat funds in 2021 due to the government's negligence. Narayana pledged to secure these central funds.

The chief minister would soon decide on the future use of the Rushikonda buildings, the minister said.



( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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