Reddy said the CID would take action in accordance with the evidence and the government's attachment orders given for the building.
Published May 15, 2023 | 8:55 PM ⚊ Updated May 15, 2023 | 8:56 PM
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Andhra Pradesh government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy on Monday, 15 May, wondered why industrialist Lingamaneni Ramesh had given his house on the Krishna riverfront to former chief minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu to live in — without taking any rent — unless he was a beneficiary in the Amaravati land scam.
Interacting with reporters, he said that while living in the building without paying any rent, the former chief minister had drawn house rent from the government as chief minister and was continuing to do so even now as the Leader of the Opposition.
If he got the building free, how could he claim rent from the government, asked Reddy.
If he had taken any building on rent and executed any agreement, the government would have paid for it as well as for its repairs, but nothing of that sort happened, he added.
This was the latest development in the alleged Amaravati land scam.
After Telangana was cleaved out, what remained of Andhra Pradesh did not have a capital city. Hence, the Naidu-led TDP government zeroed in on Amaravati with a view to setting up a new capital there.
To that end, land was brought up in the area as part of the plan to build the capital city as per a plan that was chalked out under a Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA).
However, that construction did not happen, and a special panel set up by current Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy found in 2019 “several procedural, legal and financial irregularities and fraudulent transactions concerning various projects were highlighted, including in the Capital Region Development Authority region”.
Naidu has since had to field allegations of perpetrating a scam with the land in the region.
The question at the top of everyone’s mind is why Ramesh gave his building to Naidu for free without taking any rent, Reddy stated.
“Does Ramesh have so much money that he has grown averse to it?” he alleged.
Lingamaneni Ramesh’s lands, which are about 240 acres, were excluded from land acquisition for building Amaravati, said Reddy.
Apart from this, Ramesh had given about four acres of his land to Heritage Company, which Naidu’s family owns, he alleged, adding that the industrialist had violated several other provisions of environmental protection laws.
Reddy said that the CID would take action in accordance with the evidence and also the attachment orders given by the government for the building, which is a symbol of illegal gratification that Naidu received in a quid pro quo scam in the acquisition of lands for Amaravati.
Finally, it is the government and the farmers who had lost because of the TDP’s avarice, he said.
Referring to the erstwhile TDP government declaring all the Krishna riverfront buildings as illegal as they were violative of the laws meant to protect water bodies, Reddy wondered how the Lingamaneni building, which was also on the riverfront, became a legal structure for Naidu to live in.
“Naidu, who occupied a constitutional position, unabashedly lived in an illegal building and, on top of it, did not pay anything to its owner because he immensely benefitted him in other ways,” said Reddy.
“There are several other issues with the Krishna riverfront building. Naidu has been letting out sewerage into the Krishna river from his building, which is against the law,” he alleged.
“We are able to see only the tip of the iceberg. The scam runs very deep,” he added.
He defended the YSRCP government’s decision to attack Naidu’s residence because it stood as testimony to the Amaravati land scam.
“The TDP leaders are arguing that when there was no Amaravati, then how could there be a scam? But the fact remains for everyone to see that transactions did take place,” said Reddy.
“In the end, Heritage Company, Lingamaneni Ramesh, and Chandrababu Naidu benefitted from this,” he alleged.
“The government then showed its intent in building Amaravati and the Inner Ring Road, and pulled off the scam,” he said. “Had the TDP come to power in 2019, it would have continued the scam.”
Reddy also said: “Naidu has already amassed thousands of crores of rupees in the Amaravati land scam and is now ready to use the money to pay up to ₹2,000 per vote in the next elections. That is why he is so confident of facing the YSRCP in the elections.”
