India News | Lands of Farmers, Dalits Grabbed for Company Linked to Jagan: Pawan Kalyan

Palnadu (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 5 (PTI) Amid a legal tussle between YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and YS Sharmila over the transfer of shares of Saraswati power company, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday visited the site where the firm was expected to come up and alleged that lands were snatched away from farmers and Dalits for this enterprise.

The Deputy CM alleged that farmers were threatened with petrol bombs and their lands were grabbed for this company.

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"Former chief minister's family members (Jagan & Sharmila) were feuding between themselves over these (lands) as if they were their family property," said Kalyan, addressing a public meeting at Vemavaram village in Palnadu district.

Farmers parted with their lands with the hope that their family members would get jobs, Kalyan said, and added that it did not happen.

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Kalyan claimed that the process to procure land for Saraswati power began during the tenure of the late chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, resulting in the pooling of 1,184 acres which included 24 acres of assigned land belonging to Dalits, which cannot be sold, as well as over 400 acres of forest land. He stated that the YSR family owns 86 per cent of Saraswati power, and described it as a family asset.

Kalyan alleged that the land was acquired for a pittance under the pretext of providing employment but they failed to fulfill that promise.

He criticised Jagan Mohan Reddy for discussing class warfare while allegedly grabbing lands belonging to Dalits.

Kalyan also announced that he had instructed officials to prepare a comprehensive report on the land parcels vis-a-vis Saraswati power. He said leases were obtained from the government in 2009 for 30 years and subsequently these were extended to 50 years in 2019 after Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed office as chief minister.

Also, Kalyan claimed that permissions were secured to source 196 crore liters of water from the Krishna River for the company (which is yet to commence its operations).

Kalyan said that he would raise the issue in the Cabinet meeting and ensure a thorough investigation for further action.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)