What right does Jagan have to sell land in Amravati? Chandrababu Naidu asked. (file)
Amaravati:
Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday sought to know how the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was trying to sell land in Amaravati even though it has not laid a single brick in the last three years for the development of the capital city.
The Leader of the Opposition also found fault with the AP Capital Region Development Authority’s decision to lease residential towers built for government employees to private entities.
“What right does Jagan have to sell the land in Amaravati when he has not laid a single brick for the development of the capital? How is the government expecting to get Rs 10 crore per acre when YSR Congress leaders dubbed Amaravati as ‘samasanam’ (grave yard)? Chandrababu Naidu questioned.
Addressing a meeting of the Telugu Desam Strategy Committee, the former chief minister said the Jagan regime had no right to dispose of the land given by the farmers for the construction of the capital.
He also criticized the CRDA’s decision to lease residential towers in Amaravati, which were actually built for state government employees.
“The Jagan government abandoned the towers for three years, after our government completed more than 70 per cent of the development work. Also, these flats are for government employees. How can the government lease them out to private people?” Chandrababu Naidu asked.
It may be recalled that the CRDA decided to put up 248.30 acres of land for auction in Amaravati to raise around Rs 2,500 crore to start development works in the capital city.
The auction is expected to take place in July.
From next year, it plans to sell another 600 acres in a phased manner to raise more funds.
Simultaneously, it has also decided to lease out the 120 flats D1 Tower to VIT-AP University to earn around Rs 8-10 crore annually.
Another five towers will also be offered on lease to CRDA to earn around Rs 50-60 crore as lease rental per annum.
Meanwhile, the farmers of Amaravati region, who had given their land for the capital, staged a sit-in protest at the site, strongly opposing the auction of 248 acres. He said that the government cannot take forward the scheme without developing Amaravati as per the order of the High Court.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)