The CPI(M) City Committee has opposed the reported move of the State government to sell 13.59 acres of land and 18 other properties on the Beach Road in the city.
The YSRCP government has laid the ground for sale of lands in the city under the ‘Build AP Mission’ project, CPI(M) city secretary B. Ganga Rao said in a statement here on Wednesday. He recalled that the State government had promised to cancel the agreement with the LuLu Group made by the Chandrababu Naidu government in the past, and utilise the land identified for the project for a public purpose instead.
Though the agreement with the LuLu Group was cancelled, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was now planning to hand over the same land to another developer instead of utilising it for a public purpose as promised, the CPI(M) leader alleged, further adding that the State government has put up the land for sale as elections to the Greater VIsakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) were over.
The plan was to sell 16 acres in the first phase. Subsequently, lands at the Government Regional Eye Hospital, Police Quarters at Visalakshinagar, Andhra University and GVMC lands and those belonging to the Revenue Department at various places in the city would be disposed of. These lands should not be diverted for any other purpose except for public purpose, he said.
Mr. Ganga Rao recalled that in the past, the Rajasekhar Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu governments had sold government lands under various names. Now, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was toeing the same line. The Centre has already announced the sale of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and now the State and Central governments were out to sell government lands and PSUs in the city to meet their budgetary needs, he alleged.
He warned that the CPI(M) would mobilise the public against the sale of government lands, if the Jagan Mohan Reddy government does not give up its plan.
