A former advisor to the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has allegedly been involved in a major land scam in Visakhapatnam, taking advantage of a legislation brought in by the then government conferring the Dalits a right to sell their lands.
According to highly placed sources, the development happened a few days after the assembly elections but before the declaration of the results on June 4. The deal now is said to be handing in balance.
In July 2023, the Jagan government took a decision stating that Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) may sell the lands assigned to them by the government after holding them for 20 years.
Till then, as per the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, any piece of land assigned by the government to a landless poor for the purpose of cultivation or as a house-site shall not be transferred.
This was amended by the Jagan government to allow the SCs and STs to sell or mortgage or transfer the assigned lands, after enjoying the property for a period of more than 20 years. This would benefit 66,111 persons who are in control of 63,191.84 acres of assigned lands.
In early this year, Jagan issued title deeds to several of such SCs conferring them full rights over their assigned lands, hoping to gain big political advantage in the elections.
Taking advantage of this policy, the former advisor to the Jagan government, who was known for wielding undue powers in the CMO, targeted the lands of SCs and STs who had held such properties for more than 20 years.
One such scam involving 52 acres of prime land at Visakhapatnam, belonging to the SCs, came to light. The former advisor reportedly sent his son to Visakhapatnam to purchase this piece of 52 acres of land from the SCs at a throw-away price.
“Using his father’s clout with the government and the ruling party, this young man successfully forced the SCs to sell off their lands to him at a lower price and the sale agreement was signed,” sources said.
However, the election results gave the YSRCP a shocker and the land deal was caught in a sort of uncertainty.
Sources said the father-son duo are reportedly trying to influence some key persons in the government and the ruling party to see that the land deal is completed without any hassles.
It is learnt the father and son have managed two IAS officers, a minister and a minority leader from Visakhapatnam to ensure a smooth transaction in the land deal.
In order to prevent conflicts of interest and potential repercussions, the father reportedly advised his son to step back from his responsibilities in the YSRCP.
Consequently, the son has distanced himself from that role, keeping a low profile while quietly settling matters with members of the ruling party through backdoor channels.
It is also said that this father-and-son duo made many such deals during their time, where several individuals lost their lands at compromised prices, out of fear and succumbing to power.
“In all, the duo had grabbed around 600 acres in different parts of the state,” sources said.