Naidu is likely to move the courts, turning the issue into a bigger row.
Hyderabad: A fresh political battle is erupting in Andhra Pradesh between new Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and predecessor N. Chandrababu Naidu over illegal construction of a house occupied by the latter on the riverside of Krishna in capital city of Amaravati. Naidu was given a week’s time to demolish his house, but he is unlikely to fall in line and move the courts, turning the issue into a bigger row.
The officials of Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) served a notice to the House owned by businessman Lingamaneni Ramesh who rented it out to Naidu, on Friday, terming it illegal as per the River Conservation Act 2012 as it falls within 100 meters from River Krishna. The officials gave a week time to furnish explanation from Ramesh or demolish it on his own. The Guest House built on an area of 1.31 acres in Survey No 271 and 272 in the limits of Undavalli village is currently occupied by Naidu for the last five years. Naidu made this his official residence since he shifted to Amaravati 2014. Ramesh built the house in 2008 by obtaining permission from the Gram Panchayat of Undavalli which was later merged into the CRDA in 2014.
This palatial house includes a swimming pool, a helicopter and clutch of annexes suitable to security personnel allotted to Z plus category of Naidu. The CRDA officials pasted a notice on the gate of the house stating that the owner should explain how he wants to demolish the building within a week or else the authorities would remove it as it was illegal as per the laws. The notice assumes significance as the government on the instructions of CM Jagan had removed another adjacent building, called “Praja Vedika” which was used by Naidu to hold official meetings, on 26 June. Jagan held a meeting of IAS and IPS officers meeting in this building on June 24-25 and told the officials that he won’t allow illegal buildings anywhere in the state. Jagan told the top officials that the previous TDP government had flagrantly violate4d the laws and allowed illegal buildings along River Krishna and the CM himself had occupied one of them. “Even this building in which we are now meeting too is illegal. Is this a way of good governance? Is this fair to distort laws and permit illegal buildings?” Jagan asked the senior bureaucrats. Hours after the meeting ended on Tuesday evening, the CRDA officials along local revenue staff had razed the structure of Praja Vedika spread over two acres and shifted the reusable furniture to elsewhere in the area. The destruction of Praja Vedika was considered to be a precursor to razing of the house of Naidu, a few yards away, as both of them fall under the similar distance limits from River Krishna.
When Praja Vedika was removed, Naidu was in his house as he returned from a foreign vacation by the weekend. But, he was present in his house when the CRDA officials served notice to his house on Friday afternoon. There is no official word from Naidu, who is Leader of Opposition in AP Assembly, but TDP leaders have hinted that they would make it an issue of vindictiveness by Jagan.
TDP MLA and senior leader K. Atchhennaidu attacked Jagan for trying to raze the house of Naidu out of petty politics and personal vendetta. “The CM is wasting his time and energies to settle scores with the leader of Opposition who enjoys Z plus security. The notice served on the building owner Ramesh is nothing but a move targeted against Naidu,” said Atchennaidu.
Dozens of farmers mostly affiliated to TDP thronged Naidu’s house Friday evening and expressed their solidarity with their leader and protested the attempts to demolish the building. Former TDP minister Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao dared Jagan to demolish several other illegal houses built along River Krishna before removing the one occupied by Naidu.
The argument of Atchennaidu and Ranga Rao is that the building owned by Ramesh was built in 2008 and had all permissions from the Gram Panchyat of Undavelli at the time. As the River Conservation Act which came into force much later had declared the structure as illegal, the owner had approached the High Court and that the matter was before the courts now. They would again afresh move the HC.
The CRDA officials had made it clear that they would serve notices to around 50 to 60 other buildings which came up within the banned distance of 100 meters from River Krishna and would implement in letter and spirit of the River Conservation Act other orders of the National Green Tribunal and other higher courts on environmental protection.