Former TTD chairman and YSRCP veteran B Karunakar Reddy has hit out at the NDA coalition government, claiming they “conspired” to give valuable temple land to the Oberoi luxury hotel group under the pretext of boosting tourism. Reddy alleged that over 20 acres of prime TTD land near Alipiri, valued at more than Rs 460 crore as per registration records and over Rs 3,000 crore in open market terms, was exchanged for tourism department land worth about Rs 18 crore.
"This is a conspiracy by the NDA coalition government to hand over highly valuable TTD land to luxury hotel group Oberoi under the pretext of tourism development," Karunakar Reddy said in a press release issued late on Wednesday.
This is outright looting of Lord Venkateswara's property and the biggest scam in TTD history, far bigger than TTD's any other scam, he alleged while further claiming that the land exchange was carried out without transparency, with registrations being executed quietly, "raising serious questions over the intent and legality of the transaction".
The government also extended major concessions to Oberoi, including a waiver of nearly Rs 2 crore towards building fund and around Rs 26 crore in stamp duty and lease-related charges, he then said.
Recalling a government order issued on June 2, 2007, during the tenure of former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Karunakar said the seven sacred hills of Tirumala, including the disputed land, were legally protected.
Handing over such protected temple land to a private five-star hotel chain was illegal, immoral, and unprecedented, he alleged, adding that TTD gained no benefit from the exchange. He also questioned how construction was allowed, allegedly without forest clearances, despite the presence of red sandalwood trees, and dismissed claims that a 100-room hotel required 20 acres of sacred land.
Alleging silence from seers and religious heads, Karunakar urged them to oppose what he termed a 'systemic plunder' of Lord Venkateswara's assets.
Reddy held Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, and Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh directly responsible for the move, demanding an immediate cancellation of the land transfer. He further issued a call to action for devotees, urging them to safeguard the sanctity of TTD properties.
As of now, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has not issued an official response to Reddy's allegations.
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