Ready to constitute House Committee to probe into irregularities in land deals, says CM

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced his resolve to constitute a House Committee to probe into irregularities in land deals during the BRS government to bring out the facts.

He alleged that the BRS, when in power, utilised Dharani as a tool to usurp huge extents of land and regularise them in the names of those closer to the ruling party. He cited Balanagar in Mahabubnagar district as an example where the relatives of BRS deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao forcibly secured vast tracts of lands from others.

“Mr. Harish Rao’s brother Mahesh Rao, his brother-in-law Suman Rao and father-in-law Hanumanth Rao threatened a company and got lands regularised in their names at Balanagar using Dharani portal,” he charged, adding the BRS was targeting Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy as the latter refused to do official favours for Mr. Harish Rao, who made several requests to regularise the lands.

Mr. Revanth Reddy exhorted the people’s representatives having information about illegal mining activities to share it with the CB-CID probe, which was ordered by the government on Saturday and said the officials who were entrusted with the responsibility of probing illicit mining would acknowledge the information, and this would help them probe deeper into the issue.

“Anyone, including senior BRS MLAs, can furnish the information they have on illegal mining. Their complaints will be acknowledged, and the CID officials will give a receipt in this direction. The probe will be impartial, and it will bring out whoever is involved in such activities,” he said. The Chief Minister pooh-poohed the BRS charge that Raghava Constructions, owned by relatives of Mr. Ponguleti Srinvasa Reddy, was found guilty of illicit mining and said the government had examined the seigniorage charges paid by the firm and served notice asking it to pay the dues. “It is the same notice the BRS members are displaying. They should have instead appreciated the government for its proactive steps to curb illicit mining,” he said.

Mr. Revanth Reddy recalled the house committees constituted on illegal sale of government lands, inquiry into irregularities pertaining to wakf lands and irregularities in the functioning of cooperative societies by the BRS government and said none of these panels submitted their reports to date. “These panels were used by the then ruling party to blackmail members and coerce them to join the BRS,” he said.