The auction of the controversial Sadavarti land in Tamil Nadu took a curious turn on Thursday after the bidder, Srinivasula Reddy of Satyanarayana Constructions, backed away from depositing 50% of the amount he bid for the land.
Mr. Reddy, who won the bid for 83.11 acres of land after quoting ₹60.30 crore, did not deposit 50% of the amount with the Endowments Department as directed by the Supreme Court.
‘Political pressure’
Alleging that the bidder backed away due to political pressure, the original petitioner and YSR Congress Party’s Mangalagiri MLA, Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, demanded a CBI inquiry into the auction of the land in Tamil Nadu.
Only an impartial CBI inquiry would clear the air over the controversy surrounding the sale of temple land, he added.
“There is a campaign in a section of the media that the YSRCP has cast aspersions on the bidder. Even after depositing ₹27.40 crore in tune with the court orders, I never claimed ownership of the land. Instead, I demanded a fresh auction,” said Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy.
Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said the land in question originally belonged to Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, who had ruled Amaravati during the 18th century, and was gifted towards meeting the maintenance of a choultry in Sadavarti Satram.
While most of the 400 acres of land had been encroached, an extent of 83.11 acres of land was identified by the State Endowments Department, Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said.
After the TDP came to power in 2014, Pedakurapadu MLA K. Sridhar had written a letter to the Chief Minister seeking conduct of auction for the said land.
‘Procedure ignored’
The Chief Minister had taken a hasty decision to auction the land without placing the matter before the Cabinet, he alleged.
Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy further alleged that the auctions were held in March 2016 without following proper procedure, and the land was bought by TDP leaders at a throw away price of ₹22.40 crore.
Mr. Reddy said he had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court following which the State government came up with an offer to give the land to anybody who paid 25% more. Following the directions of the court, Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said he had deposited ₹27.40 crore.
Hearing likely today
Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy also filed a petition in the High Court against the bidder.
The case is expected to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday.
