Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) University, which is said to be the largest private university in Telugu states, is facing massive land grabbing and encroachment charges.
According to some officials in Andhra Pradesh, the university, which is based in Visakhapatnam and has campuses in Hyderabad and Bangalore, has violated the laws of the land.
Revenue Divisional Officer of Visakhapatnam conducted an inquiry and confirmed that GITAM university has encroached 40.51 acres of land at Rushikonda and Endada of Visakhapatnam Districts.
It has been found that the university authorities have constructed a compound wall and some structures in these encroached lands. Based on the RDO report, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CID is also probing the matter.
The survey numbers of 15,16,17,18,19, 20 in Endada and 55, 61 survey numbers land have been found to be illegally occupied by the GITAM.
The RDO report explains that the previous government had interesting transactions with GITAM management but did not take the land back since the university is very influential and had connections with the government heads.
It was in 1981 that the GITAM management applied to the state government for allotment of 71.15 acres of land in posh Rushikonda and Endada mandals for setting up of educational institutions.
Since the land was assigned for landless poor and in some legal dispute, the then government allotted the land to GITAM subject to certain conditions that it should purchase the lands as per the rate prescribed by the government after the settlement in the court or the government might take back the land and permanent structures should not be built until the dispute is over. But as per the report of officials, the GITAM violated all rules.
By 1996, the issue was settled in the court and GITAM had already constructed buildings on 14 acres and kept the 57 acres vacant.
Subsequently, the Chief Commissioner of Lands visited the university and said 49 acres are enough for this private University and the remaining land should be taken by the Government.
The then government took back 22 acres of land, Later, the then Naidu government handed over the entire land to the institute at a nominal rate of Rs 18,000 per acre. The actual price in that area is at least 10 crores per acre.
Now, the latest inquiry by RDO has revealed that the GITAM university was in illegal possession of nearly 40.51 acres of assigned land. The sources told The Daily Guardian that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government will act stringently on it as the CM is serious about the land disputes in the state.
The Jagan government will conduct a comprehensive land survey from 1st January 2021 in the state. The survey is conducted after 100 years to settle the land disputes permanently.