Alleging lack of transparency, kickbacks and a lop-sided development model in the award of land to a convention centre, star hotel and mall close to the Beach Road in the PPP mode, opposition parties called for a ‘maha dharna’ at VUDA Office on the eve of the Partnership Summit here.
Representative of various parties stressed at an all-party meeting that they were not against development, a charge levelled against them by the Chief Minister whenever issues were raised. They questioned the manner in which it was finalised allegedly bestowing undue advantage and benefits to LuLu Group and CMR Group. The annual revenue of ₹ 6 crore was grossly disproportionate to the value of the land being given, they said.
YSRC East Assembly constituency in charge Ch. Vamsikrishna Srinivas said while exploring legal options, the movement would be intensified. The convention centre and mall could come up at Madhurawada or other areas and its location on Beach Road would curtail the freedom of common tourists. He said the CMR group was forced into accepting the takeover of its land.
Several speakers said for a long time and, as proposed by the Congress government, the APIIC land was sought to be given for IT Towers providing employment to thousands of youth.
The government decided to acquire land for a private company from another private company and give to the latter government land in lieu, they said. They also demanded making public the SIT inquiry report into land scandals in Visakhapatnam.
Stating that the government should not bulldoze, former Minister P. Balaraju recalled how being sensitive, the Congress Government dropped proposals for a food court on beach road. He also questioned the silence of the ruling party Ministers, MPs and MLAs on the issue. .
Former MLA and YSRC city president Malla Vijay Prasad said several convention centres were available and their high rents put them beyond the reach of many. Still if the government wanted to go ahead, it should take up construction on its own, he said.
Fresh tenders sought
YSRC Anakapalle president Gudivada Amarnath said when the group sought additional land a fresh tender should have been called including CMR land. During the Congress regime, the plan to develop the central jail site was dropped after people protested and central park was developed, he said. Questioning the development model, CPI(M) city secretary B. Ganga Rao said it would hit retail shops hard and result in loss of employment while creating cheap and exploitative employment.
YSRC leaders Guruvulu, Koyya Prasada Reddy, Satti Ramakrishna Reddy, CPI city secretary M. Paidiraju, journalists V.V. Ramana Murthy and G. Srinubabu, former corporators T. Nagi Reddy, Garikina Gowri and P. Vijayachander, Satish Varma (Congress), Nageswara Rao (Lok Satta) were among those who spoke.
