VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) Chairman P Gowtham Reddy alleged that several TDP bigwigs, besides party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, were involved in the AP FiberNet scam.
Speaking to mediapersons, he highlighted the role of Tera Soft company in the scam and at the same time disclosed the key decisions taken by the APSFL Board in the general body meeting held on Saturday.
“The involvement of Tera Soft was pivotal and without its involvement, the scam would not have taken place. The tender for the fibernet was awarded to Terra Soft within a single day, and individuals who resigned from that company were subsequently appointed as directors of APSFL,” he explained.
Gowtham Reddy said the prima facie evidence had already exposed the role of the then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in the scam.“The role of Lokesh is not yet clear and the probe is still on,” he said, claiming that former Finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu was definitely involved in the scam.
Brushing aside the TDP charge that the arrest of Naidu was regime revenge, he maintained that neither YSRC nor BJP were involved in the arrest of TDP chief and it was CID, which arrested him based on evidence. He dismissed former Union minister Sujana Chowdary comments as baseless.
The APSFL Chairman said the Centre had decided to allocate Rs 1,747 crore for the APSFL project with Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy taking the initiative.The government had laid special emphasis on digital services in the State and key decisions were taken in the APSFL general body meeting.
“APSFL, which was started with a share capital value of Rs 7 crore, has reached Rs 3,586.22 crore worth now. AP will certainly emerge first among all the seven States, for which the fibernet project has been sanctioned,” he asserted.
Gowtham Reddy further stated that CCTV cameras are being installed across the State as part of the Rs 1,145 crore project taken up by APSFL and the State government has already spent Rs 555 crore on it and it has decided to lease these cameras to the Home Department.
“We are taking a loan of another Rs 150 crore from HUDCO for CC cameras and have sent proposals to the REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) for a loan of Rs 325 crore,” he said, and added that it has been decided to provide AP FibreNet boxes free of cost to operators and MSOs for nine months to reduce the financial burden on them. As per the directions Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, APSFL is providing high speed internet services to remote areas in the State, he added.