JNJMAC Housing Society slams smear campaign on land allotment

Hyderabad: Condemning the smear campaign against its members and attempts to divide journalists on regional lines, the Jawaharlal Nehru Journalists Mutually Aided Cooperative Housing Society on Monday said that the journalists have paid the market value of the land allotted to them by the government.

In the wake of campaign against the society in s:me social media platforms, the society members expressed deep anguish. A section of self-proclaimed social media journalists politicised the handing over possession of land to our society by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at a grand event recently. The society members said, “We condemn the threats issued by them to prevent allotment of sites to our members and warn of severe action if they spread false information about our society. We would like to present certain facts about the land allotment. Successive governments allotted land to journalists for house sites since 1960s. Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy-led State government allotted 70 acres to JNJ MAC Housing Society in combined Andhra Pradesh in 2008. The Society has 1,000 journalists with a minimum of five yearsexperience of working for print and electronic media (including press photographers and videographers).The Society members despite severe financial crunch mobilised Rs 2 lakh each and paid the market value of Rs 12.33 cr to the State government in 2011.”

The society president B Kiran Kumar said that the Supreme Court directed the State government to hand over land to the society in 2017. K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government handed over 32 acres to the society in 2018. Again in 2022, the SC bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana directed the State government to handover remaining 38 acres, but there was no action.

The A Revanth Reddy-led State government handed over remaining 38 acres to the society in 2024 fulfilling his poll promise to implement Supreme Court order. Due to delay in court verdict, members paid huge interest on these loans. Seventy members passed away leaving their families in financial distress and several lost their jobs post Covid pandemic. It is incorrect to spread false information that the present government extended undue benefit to the society.

“We paid the total market value way back in 2011 and waged a relentless legal battle. We also strongly condemn vicious attempts to divide journalists on regional lines,” said the board of directors, appealing to a section of political parties, whose followers on social media have been spreading the hate campaign against the society, to restrain them from doing so.