Visakhapatnam: In Andhra Pradesh, the TDP government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has started cracking down on illegal encroachments on government land and illegal constructions made during the previous government. In this sequence, bulldozer action was taken on the government office of former CM Jaganmohan Reddy on Saturday morning. Municipal corporation officials demolished the office under construction. It is said that this construction was illegal. This was one of the first offices to be demolished by municipal corporation officials.
Former CM and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed displeasure over this action of the N. Chandrababu Naidu government. The former CM accused the state government of ‘political revenge’. He has described the demolition action carried out with a bulldozer as dictatorial. Amidst the allegations, it came to light that the land was allotted to the party by blatantly ignoring the objections raised by the then Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation) C Narayan Reddy, documentary evidence of which is available in the public domain.
The Superintending Engineer (Irrigation Circle), Vijayawada, had written a letter to the then Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation) on January 31, 2023, requesting him to submit a report with permission to lease out land in Tadepalli mandal for construction of a party office in Guntur district. This was based on the representation of Dokka Manikya Vara Prasad Rao, member of the Legislative Council and then district president of YSRCP of Guntur district.
The Engineer-in-Chief had refused permission for the construction of the YSRCP office on February 2, 2023 on the following grounds-
- Water bodies/tanks/FTL areas should be protected as per Supreme Court order.
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has already considered similar issues related to irrigation land in the nearby mandal.
- The proposed land is close to the Krishna Western Main Canal and is within 100 metres from the canal dam.
- The Water Resources Department has planned to build Andhra Pradesh Water Land Management Training Institute as well as Andhra Pradesh Engineering Research Laboratories on that land.
In concluding remarks, the Engineer-in-Chief said, “In view of these circumstances, it may not be possible to allot the above boat yard land for construction of YSR Congress Party office in Guntur district.” The YSRCP ignored the objections and continued to construct the party office in blatant disregard of all norms and procedures. These documents are in the public domain. This raises serious questions about the gross violations under the Jagan Reddy government.
Despite objections from the Engineer-in-Chief, the then Special Chief Secretary and Chief Commissioner of Land Administration Sai Prasad issued an order on February 16, 2023 allocating government land for the construction of the YSRCP office. It is worth noting that during the previous TDP-led government, a separate land was allotted at Koritepadu in central Guntur on July 21, 2016 for the construction of the Guntur district party office of the YSRCP.
The YSRCP-led government had ignored the objections. Despite objections raised by Engineer-in-Chief of Water Resources Department (Irrigation) C Narayana Reddy, orders were passed to allot land for the YSRCP Guntur district party office. As expected, the YSRCP Guntur district wing approached the High Court. The court disposed of the petition and asked the party to follow due procedure.
Tags: Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, jagan mohan reddy
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 22, 2024, 23:54 IST