The Telugu Desam Party leaders and workers staged a dharna near the Gandhi Statue opposite the GVMC office here on Saturday, demanding that the State government come clear on the mortgage issue.
Addressing the media after the dharna, former TDP MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao alleged that the State government had already mortgaged 13 prime government properties such as the Polytechnic College, Circuit House, rythu bazaars and the District Collector’s office for ₹3,000 crore and now they have mortgaged all the guest houses of the Roads and Buildings Department for ₹140 crore.
How long will they be generating funds by taking loans to fund their welfare schemes? he questioned.
The TDP leaders said that on one hand the YSR Congress Party government is saying that it will convert Visakhapatnam into executive capital and on the other side they are mortgaging all the properties.
“There is no asset creation and liabilities are going up. The State government can mortgage properties to generate short term loans to mitigate immediate issues such as rehabilitation of a city or village after being hit by a natural calamity. But they certainly cannot do it to fund the welfare schemes for their political mileage,” said Mr. Srinivasa Rao said.
What is even more astonishing is that the government had not conducted a socio-economic survey to determine the real beneficiaries of the welfare schemes, he said.
Visakhapatnam (East) MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and other senior leaders were present.
