VIJAYAWADA: Alleging large-scale irregularities in the procurement of lands for the housing for the poor project, BJP state chief Somu Veerraju demanded that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government probe the issue and suspend the officials responsible for it. He said that about 560 acres of land procured for the project in Korukonda mandal of East Godavari district were submerged due to the rainfall and the floods, and found fault with the government for procuring such lands.

Speaking to the reporters after visiting the inundated area on Wednesday, Somu Veerraju said, “These 560 acres are called ‘aava’ (low-lying) lands.

There is a submergence of three to ten feet due to the floods. We have already raised the issue in the past and once again demand the government to take back the money it paid to procure these lands and suspend the officials responsible for it.

Several irregularities are there across the State in the land procurement for housing for the poor. If the State government is really committed to the welfare of the people, it should launch a probe. Be it by the vigilance department or by a sitting judge, it is the government’s choice.”

He alleged that there was rampant corruption in the construction of houses for the poor during the Chandrababu Naidu’s regime. “There was rampant corruption in the construction of 2,200 houses in the earlier government. Instead of probing it, the present government is indulging in similar practices,” the BJP leader alleged.