CM Jagan writes letter to Union minister seeking transfer of railway land to state
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has addressed a letter to Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, offering transfer of some land to the railways in lieu of the land occupied by nearly 800 families within the municipal corporation limits here.
He requested that the railway land in Rajarajeswari Peta be handed over to the AP government so that this could be regularised.
The CM explained that nearly 800 poor families lived in houses they had built on railway land in Raja Rajeswari Peta area here more than 30 years ago and that they had unsuccessfully made several representations to the government to regularise these encroachments. “No meaningful effort had been made in the past to resolve the issue,” the CM said.
The chief minister said that suitable state government land could be provided to the railways by way of an exchange in lieu of this encroached land.
“It is not out of place here to mention that the Railways had not been able to put this land to any use for more than 30 years. The land identified by the state government to be given to the Railways is very suitable and located within the limits of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation,” the CM said.
“More so as the land offered in exchange is of equal value. Both the encroached land and the land proposed for exchange were inspected by a joint team of revenue and railway officials.”
The CM said railway officers had expressed their opinion to the district collector that the encroached land is of little use and they would rather be in a better position to utilise the proposed land located adjacent to the 25 acres of railway land in Ajit Singh Nagar. The chief minister told the Railway minister, “You are earnestly requested to impress upon the concerned Railway Board members to take a suitable decision in the matter which would ameliorate the present sufferings of hundreds of poor families.”
