VIJAYAWADA: Describing TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu as a master cheat, who can hoodwink anyone with his grandiose plans and schemes, but the ulterior motive always being self-serving, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Audimulapu Suresh said the Amaravati Inner Ring Road (IRR) alignment case was one of the long list of Naidu’s scams over years.
During a short discussion on ‘Inner Ring Road Alignment Irregularities’ in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, he countered the claims of TDP that not a single rupee was spent on the project. “As per the CAG report, APCRDA hired three consultancies at a contract value of Rs 28.96 crore on a nomination basis without following the due procedure of tendering and competitive bidding, which is mandatory as per the rules of APCRDA for preparing a master plan and the IRR is part of it,” he said.
Giving a PowerPoint presentation, he asserted that the master plan was modified and the IRR alignment was changed to either benefit those close to Naidu, who had purchased lands in the Amaravati region by ensuring that the land value goes up or to save their lands from getting acquired.
“STUP consultants, based in Chennai, had given three plans for the IRR, one was for 94.5 km, which cost Rs 2,100 crore, the second was 97.4 km, which cost Rs 3,950 crore, and the third was 81 km cost Rs 3,030 crore. Officials recommended the first option, which was feasible, but Naidu and the then Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana, who were Chairman and Vice-Chairman of APCRDA, selected the second option, though they were informed that it was not feasible. The reason was to benefit Narayana, Heritage company and Lingamaneni group,” he said and added that it was a clear case of breach of trust.
Suresh pointed out that lands in Amaravati were procured by Heritage, when Nara Lokesh was its director. Asserting that the issue of Lingamaneni group was a clear-cut case of quid pro quo, he explained how Narayana through his family members purchased lands.
Earlier starting the debate, former minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) came down heavily on Naidu and Lokesh on the IRR scam. “The alignment of IRR was altered to benefit Heritage and Narayana-owned colleges. It was changed to pass through the lands belonging to Lingamaneni Ramesh, benefiting him greatly. Lokesh was with Heritage, when the lands in Amaravati were purchased by the company,” he exposed. Revenue Minister D Prasada Rao said, “The records of assigned lands in Amaravati were destroyed and lands were taken by threatening poor.”