The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that had been constituted to inquire into the alleged land scam in the Port City reportedly submitted its second report in September last.
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But, there has been no word on it from the government since then, which is raising doubts about the status of the report, and if it is gathering dust.
‘No action’
The report has not been put in public domain. There has been no action either on the persons named in the report. The State government has also not sought any clarifications on or modifications to the report.
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Soon after coming to power in May 2019, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had ordered the constitution of a SIT to inquire into the alleged land scams not only in the city but also in Visakhapatnam district, and promised swift action against the land-grabbers.
The SIT, headed by former bureaucrats Vijay Kumar and Y.V. Anuradha, and former District and Sessions Judge T. Bhaskara Rao, had taken up investigation in October/ November 2019.
Later, the SIT was strengthened with the induction of former bureaucrat K. Durganand Prasad Rao, the then Commissioner of Police Rajeev Kumar Meena, and the then Chief Conservator of Forest (Visakhapatnam) Rahul Pandey.
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It had submitted its first interim report to the State government in the first week of February in 2020.
COVID hurdle
Before it could submit its second and final report, the COVID-19 pandemic had struck in the month of March, forcing the SIT to stop work.
After the first wave of COVID-19, the team had begun functioning from November 2020. After facing the second and deadly wave of the pandemic, the SIT had reportedly submitted its report at the Chief Secretary’s office in September 2021.
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As per reliable sources, the SIT had named around 25 to 30 prominent persons, who included a few serving bureaucrats, senior government officials, and former bureaucrats.
Six categories
The SIT basically looked into six categories — change in classification, tampering with records, encroachment of government land, grabbing of government land, allotment of government land to private individuals and organisations, and issuance of NoC to political sufferers and freedom fighters.
The SIT had received about 1,400 applications, with a majority of them pertaining to the 22-A lands. Of them, it had cleared about 400 with its recommendations and observations, and sent the remaining to the authorities concerned in the Revenue Department for necessary action.
Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu too had constituted a SIT led by IPS officer Vineet Brijlal in 2017-18. It had submitted its report to the government in 2018, which too had never been made public.