Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan handovers Amaravati land scam to CBI

Amaravati: The State government granted permission to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into the Amaravati alleged land scam, suspectedly indulged by then ruling party leaders including the TDP president and then CM N Chandrababu Naidu, his son Nara Lokesh, former ministers P Narayana, P Pulla Rao and others, on Monday.

The main allegation on the TDP leaders is that they misused the power for their personal gains while conceptualizing the new capital Amaravati.

Even though the State government already constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) duly delegating high powers, it realized that the Amaravati land scam involved cross border financial offences and hence decided to handover the case to CBI.

Kumar Viswajeet, Principal Secretary, Home Department gave the consent to the CBI through a GO MS No 46 on Monday. The state government granted in-principle consent to the CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act,1946.

It is worth mentioning that, the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee on June 26, 2019, to verify various allegations against the policies adopted, acts of corruption, nepotism, pilferage of public funds and others during the regime of Chandrababu Naidu. The Cabinet sub-committee submitted a detailed report, accusing insider trading by the TDP leaders in the Amaravati lands.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee concluded that public servants at the head of affairs in the erstwhile Government misused and abused their official position to predetermine the location of the new capital and subsequently purchased lands to unjustly and illegally benefit their associates, their companies and businesses, family members and political party members.

The boundaries of the capital and its infrastructure were designed and modified to suit their personal interests.

Further, the officials in violation of their oaths revealed the privileged information about capital city location to their associates. The report of the cabinet sub-committee also found several irregularities and illegalities with respect to the procedure followed by the erstwhile Government in acquiring lands, offences committed by dispossessing landless poor of assigned lands by an elaborate conspiracy, forgery, fabrication of documents, tampering of records, etc.

These transactions were penal offences under the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, Prevention of Money-laundering Act, government opined.

A Special Investigation Team was constituted in this regard and it was notified as a police station with statewide jurisdiction, recently.

While examining the contents of the report of the cabinet sub-committee and the investigation was done by the CBCID, AP, in the above-mentioned case, it emerged that for the commission of the above-mentioned offences, the funds were channelized by certain people living in states outside Andhra Pradesh and even abroad.

Owing to the high profile nature of the accused involved and the need to carry out the investigation in the inter-state and international areas, it was felt that this is a fit subject to be investigated by a national agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Hence, a reference and the report of the cabinet sub-committee were forwarded to the Ministry of Department of Personnel and Training, with a request for CBI to take up the investigation.