The TDP blames the government. of a quid pro quo deal in the sale of Adani data center land | News Bharat

Former minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and former MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao address a press conference in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. | Photo: V. RAJU

Senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders have alleged that the sale of land to the Adani group in Visakhapatnam is a clear case of ‘quid pro quo’.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, former TDP minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy said that earlier, during the TDP rule, about 89 acres in Kapuluppada, 120 acres in Nakapally and 100 acres in Chodavaram in the district were given to the Adani group for creating data centers. An agreement was made that Adani would have to pay upfront about 10% of the cost of the land and then within a period of three to seven years a sale deed would be signed, provided that Adani would develop the data centers with generation of jobs places, he added.

Former MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao alleged that the YSRCP government violated this agreement by canceling the earlier agreements and selling around 130 acres of land at hill number – 3 in the IT park here.

The government had gone for direct selling which was against the IT policy. “The land was sold to a newly formed company named Vizag Techno Park Limited and it is said to be a subsidiary of Adani group. We believe that around 65 acres out of the 130 acres belongs to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, which is a clear case of quid pro quo,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao alleged.

“We question the urgency shown in the sale of the land, which is against the IT policy, and demand a CBI probe into the deal,” said Mr. Satyanarayana Murthy.

When some lands on hill 1 and 2 are yet to be registered in the name of the companies that have been working for the last 10 years, what is the rush, TDP leaders wondered.

According to TDP MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, the land was sold at ₹1 crore per acre when the market price was at least three to four times higher.

On Hill 4, a much smaller plot of land was sold to Radiant for around ₹700 crores, but why was this land sold for ₹130 crores. The price of the land and the manner in which the deed of sale was executed indicate that there is something fishy about the transaction. The agreement and the sale took place on the same day and was done by Mr. Anji Reddy, who represented VTPL, said Mr. Palla Srinivasa Rao.

land of Rushikonda

Speaking about the ongoing construction at Rushikonda, Mr. Ramakrishna Babu said that based on a PIL filed by MP Raghurama Raju in the Supreme Court, the apex court had issued an order that construction should only take place on the land where the previous structure existed and was overthrown. But the state government had admitted that construction had spread to over 3 acres of surplus land. This shows that the state government has not complied with the court orders, he said.