YSRCP office land in Vizianagaram sparks ownership dispute

A dispute over nearly five acres of prime land in Vizianagaram has erupted into a political and legal controversy, with Goa Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju alleging that official revenue records were manipulated to transfer his family’s property to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for its district office.

The disputed 4.75-acre parcel is located along the Ring Road at Dasannapeta, where the YSRCP district office now stands. The then YSRCP government leased the land to the party on May 18, 2022, after classifying it as government property.

However, Mr. Raju has challenged that classification, contending that Survey No. 569 has long been recorded in the Town Survey Register maintained by the Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation as private property belonging to the Vizianagaram Estate. He alleged that the records were altered in 2021, during the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government, without issuing notices to the legal heirs of P.V.G. Raju.

In a representation submitted to the District Collector on May 23, 2025, Mr. Raju sought restoration of the land to the Pusapati family. He alleged that the changes in the revenue records were made to facilitate the allotment of the property to the YSRCP and urged the State government to order an inquiry and take action against the officials allegedly responsible for altering the records.

“What is the basis for treating the land as government property when the Town Survey Register records it as private land belonging to the Vizianagaram Estate?” Mr. Raju asked in his representation to the Collector.

Rejecting the allegations, YSRCP Vizianagaram district president and Zilla Parishad Chairperson Majji Srinivasa Rao said the Revenue and Municipal authorities had followed due process while leasing the land to the party. He argued that it was unfair to question the allotment after the party office had already been constructed in 2022.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said the Pusapati family had raised no objections either when the land was allotted or while the party office was being constructed. Alleging political motives behind the complaint, he claimed Mr. Raju was attempting to influence the administration after the NDA came to power in Andhra Pradesh. He maintained that the YSRCP had no reason to acquire private land for constructing its district office.

District officials declined to comment on the allegations, stating only that the matter had been brought to the notice of the State government.