Naidu’s Old Ties with Raheja Resurface in Vizag Deal!
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu can be called a man of the corporates rather than a man of the poor. Because whatever they ask for, he readily grants it — that’s precisely why they’ve collectively given him the tag of “CEO.” Everywhere he goes, he is praised as a “visionary.” Every time he comes to power, there has been talk that he casually hands over public assets — the common property of the people — to big companies and conducts backdoor dealings. Otherwise, would any government generously hand over assets worth thousands of crores of rupees to private companies? Whenever lands worth thousands of crores are allotted to corporate entities, or when incentives are offered, the justification — whether it’s Chandrababu Naidu’s government or any other — is always the same: job creation and investment attraction. Under that banner, everything they desire gets done for them.
While allocating land for industrial or institutional purposes isn’t wrong, following different models for different companies — without assessing how much land is actually needed, and without any rationale in allotments and concessions — has become the norm. Those in power simply do whatever they please. All this is in the spotlight now because the Andhra Pradesh government is reportedly preparing to allot hundreds of crores worth of land in Visakhapatnam to Raheja Corporation. Sources say the government is ready to allot nearly 27 acres in Madhurawada IT Hill in Vizag, just as the company requested. Raheja plans to develop office and residential spaces with an investment of ₹2,172 crore. The relationship between Chandrababu Naidu and Raheja Corporation is not new. Back in 2003, when Chandrababu was the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, as much as 110 acres of land in Madhapur was handed over to Raheja. At that time, when the market rate per acre was between ₹2 to ₹4 crore, the land was allotted to Raheja for just ₹50 lakh per acre. Moreover, the land rate was linked to jobs — for every job promised, an additional subsidy was provided, as per official sources back then.
Even at that time, Congress leaders and some officials described it as one of the biggest scams in the undivided state. They accused Chandrababu Naidu of allotting land to Raheja at throwaway prices. However, once they came to power, it was said that something happened behind the scenes, and the issue faded. Back then, by allotting land at such low rates in Hyderabad, Chandrababu enabled Raheja to earn hundreds of crores in profits — and now, he appears ready to allot land to the same company again, this time in Visakhapatnam. Reports say that a final decision on the price of land to be allotted in Vizag is yet to be taken. Just a few months ago, Satva Group from Bengaluru was allotted 30 acres in Vizag at a rate of ₹1.5 crore per acre. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his son, Minister Nara Lokesh, have been boasting that by allotting government lands to private developers at low prices, they’ve attracted huge investments to the state. After Satva, Raheja — a long-time acquaintance of Chandrababu — has now entered the scene. Both are purely private real estate developers. Even when the state allotted 21 acres to TCS, the country’s No.1 IT company, for just one rupee, there was still some logic — because the jobs and other benefits it brings will surely contribute to Vizag’s growth.
