Amaravati: Sale of TTD lands put on hold: YV Subba Reddy

Amaravati: Following strong opposition from Opposition parties, devotees and other religious organisations, the AP government after long deliberations on Monday decided to stop the process of sale of TTD properties.

The state government late on Monday night issued a GO Rt No 888 stating that the resolution passed by the TTD Board on January 30, 2016 to sell some of the lands that were donated to Lord Venkateswara by some devotees be put in abeyance.

The government asked the TTD to consult seers, religious organisations and devotees before taking any such decision. It also asked TTD Executive Officer Anil Singhal to send a detailed report on the issue.

It may be mentioned here that the present TTD Board, chaired by S V Subba Reddy, had put in motion the process to auction some of the properties worth Rs 1.53 crore, including some in Tamil Nadu saying that it was becoming impossible to maintain and manage them. This had sparked off a major controversy and was opposed by all political parties and religious organisations.

After so many days of controversy, TTD Chairman Y V Subba Reddy on Monday said that the temple Board had not taken any decision on selling the lands donated to the TTD by devotees and alleged that the 'yellow media' was indulging in wrong propaganda. He opened a Pandora's Box saying that all that the Board had so far done was asking its officials to identify the TTD assets lying unused, their market value and market conditions prevailing and prepare a roadmap for the same.

He said the Board would take a decision in the next meeting and urged the media to exercise restraint in reporting on the TTD.

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