Minister for Textiles and Small Scale Industries P Shankar Rao reiterated his charges against the Raheja Group, saying that the company is determined to construct domestic housing complexes in the Nacharam Industrial area.
The Minister, in letter to the Chief Minister of which he circulated to the press, stated that the land was scarce in the industrial belt - Nacharam and adjoining areas, but Raheja group has occupied around 26 acres which was originally allotted to a tractor company by the APIIC. “Now the Raheja Group is determined to construct domestic housing complexes in the industrial area,” Dr Shankar Rao alleged. “About 300 acres was assigned to 80 members in Nacharam and Cherlapally, 30 years ago. Currently over 1,000 industries have come up around the said land which is worth over Rs 1000 crore,” Dr Shankar Rao mentioned in his letter. The Minister suggested that the assigned land be developed and flats raised for allotment to the said members. He also made a challenge that he would see to it that weavers’ loans would be waived, provided applications from loanees came in three days. Turning his attention to a report published in Sakshi, Dr Shankar Rao criticized YSR Congress Party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy and his newspaper for highlighting wrong details of the waiver of loans to weavers during and after the rule of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He emphasised that during the Telugu Desam Party reign, loan waiver was to the extent of Rs 30 crore, while former chief minister K Rosaiah had waived Rs 85 crore and the current N Kiran Kumar Reddy government has waived Rs 297 crore as against a paltry sum during Dr YSR’s rule.