VISAKHAPATNAM: In response to a complaint lodged against him with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the land record irregularities in Vizag, TDP MLA from Anakapalle Peela Govinda Satyanarayana on Saturday claimed innocence. Recently, one V Raja Gopala Chandra submitted a complaint to the SIT alleging that the MLA and his family members had encroached over 47 acres belonging to him, apart from another 48.5 acres of government land at Raamavaram village in Anandapuram mandal limits.
“The 47 acres belong to my family and we have been enjoying the ownership since decades. I didn’t grab anybody’s land,” the MLA told the media here on Saturday, in the presence of his followers.
The land dispute between Raja Goala Chandra, a heir of an erstwhile Zamindar family, and the MLA is now in the court law.
A few days ago, the RDO court issued an order stating that the 48.5 acres at Raamavaram belonged to the government and V Raja Gopala Chandra alleged that MLA, with the support of former minister Botsa Satyanarayana, had secured pattadar passbooks for both the stretches by tampering with the records.
“We have done no wrong in this case. We have every legal right on the land. My father Peela Mahalakshmi Naidu purchased the stretch from Paakalapati Byragi Raju in 1995 and since then, that land has been in our possession. Even, the government has issued pattadar passbooks and we are paying the property tax for the land too,” the MLA said.
Giving more details, the legislator said that he had not received any notice from the SIT.
“If at all I get a notice, I am ready to submit all the valid documents of ownership related to the land,” the Anakapalle MLA explained. It may be noted that two women from Pendurthy recently submitted a representation to city police commissioner T Yoganand accusing the legislator, his aides and a local financier Ramana of harassing them with an intention to grab a piece of land. The police, after a probe, gave a clean chit to the MLA. However, the victims alleged that attempts were being made to hush-up the case.