Notwithstanding the pressures from various quarters, YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is learnt to have decided to act tough against the alleged irregularities committed by previous Telugu Desam Party government headed by N Chandrababu Naidu.
First, Jagan ordered a comprehensive inquiry by Vigilance and Enforcement Department into alleged excess payments to contractors in the Polavaram irrigation project head works package.
Secondly, Jagan government also ordered an ACB inquiry into the alleged insider trading done by the TDP leaders in the land purchases in Amaravati, much before declaration of the area as capital city in September 2014.
On Friday, East Godavari regional vigilance and enforcement officer U Ravi Prakash wrote to Polavaram project head works superintending engineer to produce all the documents pertaining to various payments made to the contractors right from 2011-12 to till date.
The vigilance officer directed the project authorities to furnish details and records pertaining to the project from revision of rates to payment of advances to the contractor.
Jagan government ordered vigilance probe, even as Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) under the Union Water Resources Ministry raised objections over cancellation of previous tenders and floating of fresh tenders, on the ground that it would result in escalation of project cost.
The experts committee constituted earlier had found that the previous government had paid Rs 3,128 crore to the contractors by the Naidu government in violation of the EPC norms.
The committee recommended that the government recover the additional payments made to the contractors under Revenue Recovery Act.
Meanwhile, the ACB authorities conducted raids on the sub-registrar office of Mangalagiri and seized documents pertaining to land transactions before and after the declaration of Amaravati as the state capital.
The ACB sleuths led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Kanaka Raju are examining the records pertaining to land transactions, when the reports last came in.
“Jagan is very serious on unearthing scams during the TDP regime. So, bad time starts now for the TDP leaders from now on,” a YSRC leader said.