Visakhapatnam: The multi-crore land scams in Vizag took a new turn on Friday as Minister for Roads and Building Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu submitted evidence to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), citing that some land grabbers had mortgaged government lands and raised Rs 190 crore from banks.
Though Ayyanna did not mentioned the names of the influential land grabbers who created fake documents pertaining to government lands and mortgaged the same to various public sector banks to raise bank loans, he indirectly hinted that leaders of all parties, including the TD, were involved in the scam.
The minister met the SIT, which has been conducting enquiry into tampering of land records in Vizag city and other parts of the district.
“I suspect that over 1,700 acres, including private and government lands, are under encroachment in the city and surroundings,” he said.
Expressing confidence with the SIT enquiry, Ayyanna Patrudu said the SIT has got some leads in the scams and it would submit a comprehensive report on the persons who had tampered the land records and who had benefited from the scams.
“No doubt the head of the SIT, Vineet Brijlal, is a honest and efficient officer as I knew him when he had worked as ASP (Narsipatnam) and he will list out all the culprits who are involved in the scam,’’ the minister told the reporters.
He said he had submitted some key evidence to SIT on how some people have claimed ownership of government lands to the extent of 270 acres and got compensation ('12 lakh per acre) for AP Med Tech Zone, which will come up at Pedagantyada area in Vizag city.
“I will meet the SIT officials again on July 19 to submit some more documents,” he said.
Taking on Opposition leader and YSRC supremo Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy for terming the SIT ‘snake without fangs’ and demanding CBI inquiry into the land scams, the minister said Jagan had called the CBI as the ‘Congress Bureau of Investigation’ when it started investigation into his illegal assets and now he wanted to its inquiry into the land scams.
