*Gitam university land regularisation exposes massive land grab*

Visakhapatnam, March 8: YSRCP Visakhapatnam district president KK Raju stated that the State government was facilitating the illegal regularisation of valuable government land in favour of Gitam University in Visakhapatnam. He said nearly 54.79 acres of government land worth around Rs 5,000 crore was being regularised through backdoor methods with the support of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh.

Speaking to the media at the YSRCP party district office in Visakhapatnam, KK Raju said the resolution to regularise the land was pushed through in the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) without proper discussion. He stated that the decision was taken even before the government officially issued a GO, which showed clear misuse of authority and undermined democratic procedures.

He alleged that the management of Gitam University had already started levelling works on the land even before the official orders were issued. According to him, boards earlier installed by the government stating that the land belonged to the government and that encroachers were punishable had been removed. He said the works were continuing despite the land being under dispute.

KK Raju recalled that the YSRCP party government had earlier acted against land encroachments in Visakhapatnam district and protected nearly 2,000 acres of government land. As part of that effort, more than 40 acres allegedly encroached by Gitam  had been taken back and structures removed. He also noted that over 14 acres of the same land was still under litigation and the court had granted status quo orders.
He accused the government of allocating valuable public lands to corporate institutions at throwaway prices in the name of development while demolishing small shops of poor people. KK Raju demanded immediate action against the Gitam management for removing government boards and carrying out illegal works. He said the issue was completely unlawful and added that the YSRCP party would take both legal and public action on the matter following the directions of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.