Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy before the media in Nellore on Sunday.
Former Minister and YSR Congress President Nellore Kakani Govardhan Reddy has accused Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy of selling 40 acres of government land on Kagithalapur Road near the highway, reportedly worth about ₹100 crore. He further alleged that several government officials were involved in the irregularities.
Mr. Chandramohan Reddy refuted the allegation at his Vedayapalem office in Nellore on Sunday and said that he had actually proposed that the land in survey No. 434, which has been in dispute since 1971, be handed over to the Nellore Urban Development Authority. He said officials were unfairly targeted after they issued notices to cancel what he described as illegal registrations.
No matter how many allegations are made, the land belongs to the government, he said. He recalled that the then Joint Collector had canceled the illegal transactions as early as 2011 and that the then Collector had rejected applications for clearance of the dotted lands in 2018. After the coalition government took office, steps were taken to utilize the land for public purposes, he added.
Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said that former Collector O. Anand ordered the cancellation of all illegal registrations on the land in August 2025. The Tahsildars and Revenue Divisional Directors subsequently initiated steps to transfer the land to the Nellore Urban Development Authority. He added that the current collector Himanshu Shukla is working to resolve the outstanding legal issues so that the NTR township can be developed under his jurisdiction.
Mr. Chandramohan Reddy hit out at his political rival, alleging that when Mr. Kakani was first elected as an MLA in 2014, he had encroached on Dalit land worth about ₹ 25 crore in his mother-in-law’s village Vaviletipadu. He claimed to have alerted the collector about the problem, removed the fencing allegedly erected there and allowed the lands to be returned to the rightful ones. He further claimed that 12 plots belonging to retired employees were also occupied.
He also charged that after Mr Kakani was re-elected in 2019, corruption and irregularities escalated. He claimed that the illegal toll gate was allowed to operate and that the container terminal was forced to shut down, resulting in financial gains in the millions. He further alleged that the drivers were harassed and threatened by the MLA and his associates.
Published – 1 March 2026 21:11 IST
