Demolition not illegal, asserts TDP

Vijayawada : Did the NDA government commit any violations in demolishing the under-construction building of the YSRCP office at Tadepalli on Saturday as is being claimed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and former ministers like Ambati Rambabu and Gudivada Amarnath?

Jagan in his ‘X’ handle tweeted saying that the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had taken dictatorship to a new level and resorted to demolition violating court orders as well.

But the official documents have a different story to say. The YSRCP building which was under construction under Tadepalli Municipality was being constructed on irrigation land without obtaining their permission.

In all, it is a five acre land parcel close to seed access road. On February 2, 2024, the CCLA recommended to the irrigation department to hand over two acre land for YSRCP party office. But the engineer-in-chief, irrigation, Narayana Reddy, refused permission saying that the land was earmarked for AP Water Management Institute.

The issue was put before the Cabinet which gave its consent for allotment of land without obtaining permission from irrigation department.

On February 16, the government issued GO No 52 allotting two acre land on lease to YSRCP and said that they had obtained the consent of irrigation department though no such consent was given by Irrigation department.

Following this, on May 20, 2024, the Mangalagiri-Tadepalli Municipality issued a notice to YSRCP but they did not bother to give any reply. Subsequently, on June 1, another notice was sent to YSRCP saying that they should explain why the building under construction should not be demolished. On June 10, it directed Ramky Constructions to remove the structure at their expenditure immediately.

This being the situation, how can Jagan Mohan Reddy or YSRCP leaders claim that due process was not followed, question TDP leaders. They also said that between 2014 and 2019, the TDP government had allotted one acre of land to YSRCP for its party office in the heart of Guntur and a GO was also issued. This being the situation, why do they need another two acre in Tadepalli, they question.