HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam Party has demanded a high-level enquiry into alleged grabbing of 14,000 acres of Government land by a Congress functionary in Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda districts.

Addressing a press conference, TDP leaders K. Vijayarama Rao, Mahender Reddy and Ravindra Kumar and Hyderabad Mayor T. Krishna Reddy, demanded booking of criminal cases against those involved in the `land scam,' cancellation of registration and suspension of revenue officials who had registered the land without proper title deeds. They said the party would launch an agitation if the Government failed to take appropriate action.

The TDP leaders said given his background, the Congress functionary could not have mobilised resources to take over the land but for the backing of some influential persons in the Government. They alleged that he was being used to strike deals after coming to know that the Government was planning to locate some important projects in these areas.

Verifying details

They did not reveal the names of the `big leaders' who were behind the `land scam' saying they were still verifying details. They would disclose the names after collecting all the evidence. Preliminary enquiry shows that most of these lands were assigned to tribals. The tribals were paid paltry amounts as advance and land was taken away. They said it was quite surprising that a person who could hold just 54 acres of dry land under ceiling law could register hundreds of acres on his name.

They also found it strange that whenever the TDP was staging protests, the ruling party was following suit and wondered if it could protest against its own Government.

Left parties

The Left parties -- CPI (M) and CPI -- have demanded that the Government order a comprehensive probe into the alleged land deals.

Expressing concern that lands of tribals, dalits and other weaker sections had been taken away forcibly from them, CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu wanted the Government to inquire into how so many registrations could be made on the name of a single individual in violation of all the existing laws. The probe should also concentrate on whether the person involved did the transactions for himself or on behalf of others.

CPI State secretary K. Narayana wanted the Government to immediately prohibit transactions on the lands allegedly involved in the transactions besides registering cases of land grabbing against those involved in the deals.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail