Jagan govt allotted 42 acres for YSRCP offices in 26 districts, alleges Lokesh

Vijayawada: Information Technology and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh on Sunday alleged that the former YSRCP government led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had allocated 42 acres of land in 26 districts for building party offices at a nominal cost of Rs 1,000 lease for 33 years.

The minister posted the information on social media platform X along with several pictures of alleged YSRCP offices under construction. “You (Jagan) allocated 42 acres of land in 26 districts for YSRCP (offices) at a meagre cost of Rs 1,000 lease for 33 years,” Lokesh said in a post on X, attaching more than a dozen pictures of the alleged YSRCP offices under construction in various parts of the State.

This development comes soon after it became public knowledge that a palatial mansion was allegedly built at a cost of Rs 500-crore in Rushikonda, Visakhapatnam for Jagan Reddy, and that an under-construction YSRCP central party office in Tadepalli was recently demolished.

The sea-view mansion, built with Italian marble, 200 chandeliers, 12 bedrooms, multi-hued illumination and other luxuries was allegedly meant to be the residence of the former Chief Minister. However, the recent transition of the State government from the YSRCP to the TDP-led NDA brought the mansion into the national spotlight.

According to Lokesh, the 42 acres of land, said to be worth about Rs 600 crore could have easily funded land at the rate of one cent each for 4,200 poor people. Drawing a similar parallel, the TDP national general secretary noted that the money spent on the Rushikonda mansion could have funded house construction for 25,000 people.

The TDP on Sunday circulated 19 images of buildings under various stages of construction across the State, alleging that they were YSRCP offices. “With the demolition of the illegal structures constructed by the YSRCP in Tadepalli, several sensational facts have come to light. The senior officers are now studying the details of how the YSRCP has grabbed lands in prime localities at all 26 district headquarters, worth hundreds of crores (of rupees), in the name of building party offices,” a TDP statement said. According to the ruling party, the market value of land in these locations and the estimated expenditure on buildings could total up to Rs 2,000 crore. Meanwhile, the YSRCP in a post on X also alleged that the erstwhile TDP government between 2014 and 2019 had allocated government lands worth thousands of crores of rupees to the ruling party at a paltry lease cost.