Amaravati Land Deals: Govt Report Accuses Naidu of Insider Trading

The AP government has requested the Centre to entrust the investigation into the alleged land scam to the CBI.

File image of TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu.

(Photo Courtesy: PTI)

A Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) set up by the Andhra government to look into the alleged irregularities under the regime of Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, submitted its report to the High Court on alleged "insider trading" in the land transactions of Amaravati capital region.

The Sub-Committee is said to have mentioned several prominent businessmen and politicians of the TDP, including former ministers, and alleged insider trading in the land transactions between June 2014 to December 2014.

The CSC, headed by state Minister for Finance Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, in its affidavit claimed that at least 4,070 acres were purchased by persons who have prior information about the capital coming up in Amaravati region and bought pieces of land in Guntur and Krishna districts for nominal rates from farmers before the capital notification was issued.

Former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, former Minister Paritala Sunitha, Public Accounts Committee chairman and MLA Payyavula Keshav, NRI Vemuru Ravi Kumar Prasad, former MLAs G V S Anjaneyulu and Dhulipalla Narendra, Kambampati Rammohan Rao and several others were named in the affidavit.

The Sub Committee has also further alleged that purchasing of lands violated provisions of the AP Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977 and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

While naming former Ministers including Nara Lokesh and Prathipati Pulla Rao, the Sub Committee alleged that they indulged in “benami transactions”.

The Andhra Pradesh government has requested the Centre to entrust to the CBI, the investigation into the alleged land scam in Amaravati capital region and also the scandal in the AP State Fiber Net Limited.

(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)