The controversial allocation of prime land in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada by the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government in Andhra Pradesh to the Lulu Group for the development of malls has come under legal scrutiny.
A petition has been filed in the state High Court challenging these land allotments.
The court stated that a comprehensive inquiry should be conducted into the allocation of land to the Lulu Group in both cities.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Cheemalapati Ravi, observed that the petitioner must challenge two Government Orders (GOs), after which a detailed hearing will be taken up. The hearing has been adjourned to next week.
Visakhapatnam-based advocate Paka Satyanarayana filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the cancellation of GO 45, which allocated 13.74 acres of land in Visakhapatnam to the Lulu Group without a competitive bidding process.
The advocate also pointed out that the government had given in-principle approval to allot land to the Lulu Group in Vijayawada. He noted that the market value of the Visakhapatnam land is approximately ₹50 crore.
In response, the bench directed the petitioner to also challenge the GO related to the Vijayawada land allotment. The court clarified that a full hearing on the PIL would only be conducted once both GOs are contested.
The petition states that the government is preparing to allot 13.5 acres of land in Visakhapatnam to the Lulu Group for the construction of a shopping mall at a nominal price.
It further notes that land was initially allotted to Lulu Group through a bidding process in 2018, but the allotment was cancelled by the then YSRCP government on November 8, 2019.
The land was later re-allocated based on a proposal from the group’s chairman, allegedly without fresh bids and in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
Taking these details into account, the bench advised the petitioner to file a challenge to the relevant GO for Vijayawada and adjourned the matter for further hearing.
