HYDERABAD: Social activists are up in arms against a few unscrupulous elements who are out to grab forest land in Nagarkurnool and sell it away for a fortune. According to sources, the land in question consists of about 775 acres in Survey No: 11 (Asadpur village) and 854 acres in survey No: 168 (Molachintapalli). The scam, according to them, is said to be worth over `150 crore. The land in question was part of the total land that was surrendered to the government (over 2,428 acres) as excess under the Land Ceiling Act in 2008 by the Jatprole Samsthanam.
The remaining 45 acres in Molachintapalli and 748 acres in Asadpur had already been submerged under the backwaters of the Srisailam project. Social activists state that they have reason to believe that the land in two parcels (775 and 854 acres) which was classified as forest land after it was surrendered to the then Andhra Pradesh government in 2008, has now been reclassified as patta land and is waiting for the digital signature of the MRO concerned.
Once this is done, the land could be registered in favour of those who want to purchase it and for facilitation of the process, money in large sums has changed hands. Social activist Jalagam Sudheer contends that local officials and politicians, having set their eyes on the land and taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, moved their pawns to have the land declared as private property and to dispose it of secretly. They have more or less completed the documentation process for this ‘illegal’ deal and are waiting for the digital signature of the MRO concerned.
“Once this process is over, which is likely as politicians have been involved, it would become difficult to protect the government land. I have already written to the Chief Minister on the goings-on in the district,” said Sudheer. “My aim is to see that the land does not fall into the hands of private individuals,” he added.