The North Andhra Development Forum (FDNA) has appealed to Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy not to proceed with the cabinet decision to sell 10.39% of its stake in Gangavaram Port to the Adani Group.
In a letter to the Chief Minister on Friday, FDNA General Secretary A. Aja Sarma said that the land given by the then state government to the port of Gangavaram was spread over 2,800 acres originally acquired for the Visakhakhapatnam Steel Mill (VSP) be. The previous government had allotted the land to Gangavaram Port at a price well below the market price.
“If the government at the time had existed at market price, it would have held 90% of the shares and Gangavaram port would now be in the public sector. The wrong decision had resulted in losses for the government and benefited the private port, ”said Aja Sarma.
The state government is now planning to sell 10.39% of its stake to the Adani group for £ 645 crore, which is much lower than the land’s market price set by the registration and stamps department, he said
The proposed sale of Gangavaram Port Land to the Adani Group and the centre’s decision to sell the VSP land to POSCO would give these private actors an undue advantage, Aja Sarma said, urging the state government to reverse the cabinet decision to check .
The Adani Group has already acquired 89.61% of the shares in the two private companies and is now planning to acquire the government’s 10.39% stake in the port. The move would give the Adani group complete freedom to act on their whims and ideas, he said.
Mr. Aja Sarma also recalled that the Visakhapatnam public sector port had volunteered to build the port in Gangavaram, but the state government at the time had preferred the private facility for reasons unknown. He called on the state government to take over the port of Gangavaram.