Tree cut to make way for CM's convoy?

HYDERABAD: Was a huge old banyan tree on Karkhana main road almost axed on Tuesday to clear the way for chief minister K Rosaiah’s convoy? The roads
and buildings department brought down a leafy banyan, which sources say was to give a clear passage to the chief minister who is expected to pass by this route to attend the inauguration of a Kalyana Mandapam near Hakimpet Air Force Station Compound on Wednesday.

The tree-felling was stopped when the residents of the area started inquiring why the banyan was being cut and started contacting this newspaper to complain about the same. With forest officials reaching the spot and the R&B department getting alerted, the tree-felling, which was meant to continue all night, was stopped. However, almost half the tree was mutilated.

While sources said the green murder was to make way for the CM’s convoy, which is expected to pass by this stretch twice on Wednesday, officials denied the same.

While the tree-cutting was proposed months ago, the authorities had gone slow on it till the CM announced his plan to pass by this route.

“The CM is scheduled to pass through the road. The tree was coming in the way of our repairing the road,” an R&B official told TOI. However, senior officials of the department said this was not so and that the tree-felling exercise was “routine” for which they had even taken permission from the forest department in 2008. “This is a routine exercise and we will relocate the tree if possible,” said Sudarshan Reddy, executive engineer, R&B, who maintained that the CM taking this route had nothing to do with this decision.

Meanwhile, officials of R&B, Karkhana police and even the forest department ganged up against the tree and said it was “half dead’’, termite-infested and could fall on its own if not removed. “The tree was old and obstructing the way. It could fall any time and that is why it was removed,” said Subhash Babu, Karkhana police inspector. However, citizens who saw the tree being axed disagreed. “The tree was very green and had new shoots springing up. The claim that it is termite-infested and half dead is far from the truth,” said Ramesh Kodambi, a businessman who was present at the site.

Green lovers also asked how a tree which is in the corner of the road and leaning towards the police station would disrupt the passage of the CM’s convoy.

According to another resident of the Karkhana area, tree-felling has been rampant in this area for long. “This tree has been around for a long time and it is a shame that it was cut down. It was not blocking the road,” said Suresh Kochattil, a concerned denizen.

The forest department had revoked all tree-felling permissions last year in response to the green movement catalysed by The Times of India. Tree-felling, it had said, would be permitted only if there was no other alternative and only after translocation as an option had been considered.

TDP to use K’taka Cong report to expose OMC

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam plans to use the material prepared by its arch-rival, the Congress, to expose `illegal mining’ by the company owned by Karnataka Minister and BJP leader Gali Janardhan Reddy.


A TDP delegation, which will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon, will present a booklet brought out by the Karnakata Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on `illegal mining activities’ of Gali Janardhan Reddy.

KPCC’s `fact-finding’ report was published last year and the TDP is quoting from the book in support of its allegations against Janardhan Reddy, who is the Tourism Minister in the BJP Government in Karnataka.

Speaking to reporters here today, TDP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy said that they would soon meet Chief Minister K Rosaiah and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding immediate halt to the mining activity in Andhra Pradesh by the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by Gali Janardhan Reddy. ``We will also present the KPCC report to the prime minister,’’ the TDP leader said.

Reddy said that his party had been fighting against the illegal mining by Gal i Janardhan Reddy for the last four years but the State Government issued notices only yesterday. ``Mere issuance of notices is not sufficient, the State Government should stop all the mining activities of OMC,’’ he demanded. He also urged the State Government to arrest the directorgeneral of mining for lending support to the illegal mining.

The TDP leader said that an expert committee should be constituted to fix the boundaries of OMC. He alleged that government’s advisor KVP Ramachandra Rao and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy abetted the illegal mining.

When the BJP leader was resorting to illegal activities, the Congress government supported him, he alleged.

Another TDP leader S Venugopala Chary demanded that the State Government impose a heavy penalty on Gali Janardhan Reddy and collect sales tax from him.

Cong buys Chiranjeevi insurance against YSJ

NEW DELHI: Congress may have found an out-of-the-box solution to settle the Andhra Pradesh leadership issue. The party has roped in actor
Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections to be held later this month.

The tie-up has sent shock waves through the Andhra unit of the party as its real significance goes much beyond the local body elections in Hyderabad on November 23. The move effectively sidelines late Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Jaganmohan Reddy and puts in place a safety net for the K Rosaiah government in the state in case the Jagan faction decides to walk out of the party. PRP has 18 MLAs in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly.

There was speculation that the resignation of state women welfare minister Konda Surekha last week could have hastened efforts by Congress to insulate the party from desertions by Mr Reddy’s supporters.

However, it is the prospect that the Congress high command has found a face fill up the leadership vacuum left behind by YSR that has fuelled speculation about how the tactical move will play out in the run up to the assembly elections in 2014. Political observers suggest future developments will have to be watched closely to decipher exactly where the charismatic and popular matinee idol would fit in the Congress scheme of things.

In the absence of a replacement for YSR, the party may have handed over charge to the experienced Rosaiah but there is little doubt Congress will be looking for a leader who can attract crowds for the next assembly polls. YSR’s 36-year old son is ruled out, at least for the moment. The high command has signalled its reluctance to hand over the leadership baton to Mr Jaganmohan Reddy, who is seen as too young and inexperienced . Moreover, the campaign launched by the Jagan group to install him as CM immediately after his father’s death was also seen as a move to arm-twist the high command.

The only draw back for the Congress in the alliance lies in the performance of PRP. Mr Chiranjeevi , who made a big bang entry on the political scene with a massive rally in Tirupati, was not able to demonstrate N T Rama Rao-kind of appeal in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections held this year. Though he served to damage the opposition TDP in the elections, his party only managed to pick up 18 seats. It remains to be seen how Congress-PRP alliance performs.

The tie-up was formalised after negotiations between APCC president D Srinivas and PRP leader and Mr Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law Allu Aravind.