VIJAYAWADA: As the dismantling of Praja Vedika, an illegal structure built as an annex to former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s residence in Undavalli, concluded on Wednesday, the YSRC leaders trained guns at the TDP supremo.
The YSRC leaders left the decision on vacating his residence, which they alleged was unauthorised, to ‘Naidu’s wisdom’, but clarified that the government would continue to crack the whip on illegal structures.
The dismantling was done in the presence of officials of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), police and other revenue officials, who shifted the paraphernalia in the hall to Secretariat.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said, “We just went by the rules and dismantled the structure. Regarding action on former CM Naidu’s residence, we will leave it to him whether to vacate the premises or not. He is experienced and he knows what is good.”
Earlier in the day, Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy said that he had been fighting against the illegal structures along the River Krishna bund for the past several years. “As many as 57 structures, belonging to high-profile people, were served with notices by the Tadepalli tahsildar in 2015. I later moved court also. Two notices were sent to the present residence of Naidu, but there is no response,” he observed.
“Now that Praja Vedika is dismantled, I hope the others residing in unauthorised structures vacate them. However, Naidu’s residence issue is in the court so I don’t think we can take any action as the matter is sub judice,” he noted.
Alla added that around 4,000 people reside in the unauthorised structures along the river bund. “Take Manthena Satyanarayana Raju’s ashram for instance. Several people come there for naturopathy. But, all the excrements and sewage percolate and reach the river,” he observed and alleged that the TDP government and former CRDA chief Cherukuri Sreedhar intimidated the land owners of Praja Vedika into giving the land to the government.
When the dismantling was underway on Wednesday, a few farmers reached the premises and demanded that the approach road laid to enter Naidu’s residence also be demolished.
They said that the land belonging to Balakotaiah was taken with a promise that it would be used only for laying road without ownership rights. However, they alleged that a permanent road was laid and that efforts were being made to retain the land permanently.
The TDP leaders decried the move alleging that the YSRC government was resorting to witch hunt. “If at all the government wants to raze it down, there is a procedure. Where is the need to demolish it overnight? This is nothing but political vendetta,” former minister Kalava Srinivasulu said.
TDP State president Kala Venkat Rao also wondered why the government hurriedly brought the structure down at a time when there are no other places to organise meetings. Former MLA Bode Prasad and others too echoed his views.
Transport and Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani), however, clarified that all the components of the structure would be reused. “It is not demolition, but dismantling. We will use them in the land identified near Secretariat,” he said. He also took potshots at the TDP government saying, “They say they spent about Rs 8 crore on this structure, which is made of metal sheets and metal pillars.”