BJP demands probe into land grabbing, records tampering

Vijayawada : Alleging that many land grabbing incidents and tampering of lands records had taken place under the YSRCP rule in the state, BJP state chief spokesperson Lanka Dinakar demanded the state government to conduct a detailed into land scams.

He accused the previous government of facilitating land scams and other illegal activities by tempering land records. “The state government should to set up a special task force for safeguarding the revenue, forest, temple and private properties of the people from the land grabbers,” he said while addressing the media at the state party office here on Wednesday.

Dinakar said people were terrified during YSRCP rule about the safety of their lands and other properties. People felt unsafe and insecure about their lands when AP Land Titling Act was implemented. “We welcome CM N Chandrababu Naidu’s announcement on repeal of Land Titling Act,” he said.

He said the Gujarat government brought ‘Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020’ to check land encroachment and land grabbing activities in that state.

The Act not only declares land encroachment and occupation illegal but also criminalises such acts. The new law established special courts for the trial of land encroachment cases and acquisitions, whose jurisdiction was not limited to criminal cases of land acquisition but also extends to civil remedies, he explained.

Dinakar alleged that DKT land encroachments were reported in the state under YSRCP rule and demanded that the NDA government conduct a probe into them. He alleged that endowments department lands of some temples were tampered with and sought a detailed probe.

He said many efforts were made in north Andhra to grab the lands and thousands of acres land was grabbed through benamis names in Rayalaseema for construction of power projects.