When the Telugu Desam Party was in opposition, it strongly protested the alleged allocation of land in Visakhapatnam at a throwaway price to Swamy Swaroopanandendra of Sarada Peetham by the previous Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government.
After coming to power last year, the TDP-led coalition under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu promptly cancelled the land allotment to Swaroopanandendra and took measures that nearly dismantled Sarada Peetham’s presence.
The government also revoked land previously allotted to the Peetham for a guest house in Tirumala.
However, Naidu is now extending similar favors to the controversial spiritual leader Baba Ramdev.
He has revived an earlier proposal to allot land to the Patanjali Group, headed by Ramdev, for setting up a food and Ayurvedic manufacturing facility in Chinaraopalli and Pedaraopalli villages of Kothavalasa mandal in Vizianagaram district.
During a recent meeting, Naidu invited Baba Ramdev to establish his operations in Andhra Pradesh. In response, Ramdev confirmed an investment of â¹272.15 crore in the project, which is expected to be completed within two years.
As per the announcement, the project is projected to create direct employment for 3,000 people and indirect employment for 33,000 others.
The facility aims to produce 500 types of food and Ayurvedic products for both domestic and international markets.
Back in February 2017, during his previous tenure, Naidu had allotted 172.84 acres of land to Ramdev — 145.64 acres in Chinaraopalli and 27.20 acres in Pedaraopalli — at a concessional rate of â¹3 lakh per acre. However, the YSRCP government under Jagan later cancelled this allotment.
Now, with the same proposal back on the table, Naidu has swiftly approved the restoration of the land allocation at a similarly low price. He also announced plans for a world-class wellness centre along the Surya Lanka coast.
If Jagan’s land allotment to Swaroopanandendra for a spiritual centre was considered questionable, how can Naidu justify allocating land to Baba Ramdev for a commercial venture?
Well, that’s politics!