A report by an investigative agency said that 2,353.28 acres of assigned lands, mostly in the riverfront villages in the Amaravati area, given to the ex-servicemen and political sufferers on or after 1954, were allegedly taken over by those in the TDP “through registered or unregistered agreements” after making them believe that the government would re-assume the lands without giving them any benefits, or through sheer intimidation.
Based on a complaint by Mangalagiri MLA Alla Rama Krishna Reddy, the AP CID had booked cases against former Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu and former Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana under IPC Sections 166, 167, 217, 120-B r/w 34, 35, 36, and 37, and Section (3) (1), (f), (g) of SC/ST POA Act, 1989, and Section 7 of the A.P. Assigned Lands (POT) Act, 1977. They were asked to appear before the CID Regional Office in Vijayawada on March 23.
‘Legally unsustainable’
The report stated that the TDP government had framed the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) rules allegedly without amending the provisions contained under Rule 3 of the AP Assigned Lands (POT) Act, or the provisions under the SC/ST (POA) Act, 1989 (Section 3 (1V) and (V), by virtue of which the exercise vis-a-vis assigned lands and SC/ST lands appeared to be legally unsustainable.
The report also said that ineligible persons allegedly in occupation of assigned lands were made eligible to get the benefits of the LPS through illegal GOs.
The original assigned land-holders were thus deprived of their rights in a systematic manner, the report alleged.
The TDP government had adopted the LPS to acquire more than 33,000 acres of farm land. Those owning dry lands were given a residential plot of 500 square yards and 250 square yards of commercial land, while those owning fertile wetlands were given a residential plot of 1,000 square yards and 250 square yards of commercial land.
SIT probe
After coming to power, the YSRCP government had constituted a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to probe the “irregularities in the LPS, choosing of the Capital area, and defining the boundaries of the CRDA,” which allegedly benefited a select group of people.
The report also alleged that persons who were aware of the likely location of the Capital had purchased lands in the Capital city / region prior to the formal official declaration. It also alleged that certain highly placed individuals had procured lands through benami transactions, and that the boundaries of the Capital region had been defined to benefit certain people.
