Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s land doles cost Andhra Rs 1 lakh crore: CAG

HYDERABAD: Providing fodder to the CBI probing the various land allotments in the state during the YSR government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has concluded that the Andhra Pradesh government doled out thousands of acres of government land to private individuals on an ad hoc and arbitrary manner without safeguarding the interests of the state. The CAG report for the year ending March 31, 2011, was tabled in the assembly on Thursday.

A total of 88,500 acres of land was allotted in this manner to private parties, depriving the state revenue of nearly Rs 1 lakh crore. Among the irregularities established by the CAG were those pertaining to Vanpic, Obulapuram Mining Company and Aurobindo Pharma, all of which are already under the CBI scanner in the Jagan assets case.

The CAG report details the land allotments between 2006 and 2011, the major portion of which saw Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as CM. “Alienation and allotment of land by the state government during 2006-11 was characterized by grave irregularities, involving allotment on an ad hoc, arbitrary and discretionary manner to private persons/ entities at very low rates, without safeguarding the financial and socio-economic interests of the state. The rates proposed at different established levels of the government hierarchy were disregarded and substantial benefits were unduly granted to private parties. Audit scrutiny revealed that in the test-checked cases, undue benefit of Rs 1,784 crore was given to various entities and persons due to the difference in the rates at which land was allotted and the market value as recommended by the district collector and empowered committee. In many cases of land allotment, the state government ignored the prescribed procedures and disregarded canons of financial propriety,” observed the CAG.

During 2006-11, the state government allotted 88,492 acres of land to 1,027 beneficiaries. The CAG made a sample audit in 11 districts where 459 allotments were made, involving 50,285.90 acres of land.

“The audit found that land allotments for commercial purposes were not made in a fair, consistent and transparent manner so as to serve the public interest,” the report said. In 60 cases, alienation cost amounting to Rs 2,559 crore was not collected by the district collectors from the institutions to which land was alienated between 2003-04 and 2010-11.