The decision of the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government to regularise 54.79 acres of precious land allegedly encroached upon by GITAM University at Rushikonda and Endada villages of Viskakhapatnam has kicked up a big controversy.
According to reports, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, in its meeting scheduled for January 30, 2026, has included in its agenda, a decision aimed at “regularising” the land encroached by GITAM University owned by TDP MP from Visakhapatnam Mathukumilli Sri Bharat.
Retired IAS officer and social activist E A S Sarma has raised this issue in his letter to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu asking him to stop the move to regularise the illegally occupied land.
According to Sarma, the private educational institution had encroached upon government land worth several thousand crore rupees several years ago.
Despite the alleged encroachment, neither revenue officials nor GVMC authorities had initiated action, purportedly due to political patronage.
CPI (M) Visakhapatnam district secretary M Jaggu Naidu alleged that the agenda was included to benefit the Visakhapatnam MP, who is the chairmanof the GITAM group.
He said as per government valuation guidelines, land in the Rushikonda–Endada area is valued at approximately Rs 22 crore per acre, placing the total market value of the land at around Rs 5,000 crore.
He argued that allocating such prime public land to a profit-making private institution would violate Supreme Court judgments in the 2G spectrum and coal block allocation cases, potentially attracting action under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The CPM leader further cited a 2011 Supreme Court ruling and a 2012 government order (GO No. 571), both of which prohibit the allocation of government land under local bodies to private entities.
He accused the coalition government of betraying electoral promises to protect public land and demanded that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu intervene immediately and called for the immediate removal of the agenda item, repossession of the encroached land, and strict action against officials and political leaders involved.