Visakhapatanam: Rajya Sabha member V. Vijay Sai Reddy listed out the land encroachments made by TD Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and reiterated that the government would be the custodian of state-owned lands.
He said the TD leaders, led by Ramakrishna Babu, resorted to largescale encroachment of government lands under survey number 26 and 27 in Zone -2 of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC). The corporation has about 837 acres of land of which 136.36 acres are in legal disputes. Around 213.13 acres were given on lease to various government departments. TDP leaders grabbed 73.01 acres.
Political leaders of the previous regime built sheds and thatched houses in 40 acres of land. The GVMC officials demolished 50 thatched houses and 13 sheds in the recent drive.
Listing out the MLA’s encroachments, Vijay Sai Reddy said the MLA built poultry farms in Kommadi in an extent of four acres of land in the name of his benami Sona Prasad. In another acre of land in Ramakrishnapuram, he has been running a piggery farm in the name of another benami. His aide Duvvi Tata Rao developed layouts in two acres of land in the same area and has been selling plots.
The MLA tried to construct a building in MVP Colony in the land encroached but the GVMC officials stopped it on time. His followers sold sheds in front of Central Jail each for Rs 10 lakh. These sheds were demolished by the GVMC personnel, he said,
Ramakrishna Babu had plans to encroach and grab all the vacant lands in his constituency but this would not happen under the present government, the Rajya Sabha member said.
The government as custodian of the lands would take back all the encroached land, Vijay Sai Reddy said citing the instance of GITAM University and that of former mayor Sabbam Hari.
