HYDERABAD: The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has urged Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to institute a probe into the sale of public sector and cooperative undertakings by the TDP Government that allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs. 500 crores to the public exchequer.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, the CLP members alleged that the sale of public sector and cooperative undertakings during the nine-year TDP rule was a deliberate design aimed at helping TDP leaders amass wealth. The TDP Government led by N. Chandrababu Naidu adopted what could be called "low cost high return venture" by using the then newly-created Implementation Secretariat to palm off valuable properties to those close to ruling party leaders, the CLP members, N. Varadarajula Reddy, Vatti Vasanta Kumar and others alleged.

Giving a list of some public sector undertakings like the Republic Forge Company and cooperative units like Nizam's Sugar Mills, they said the TDP Government sold more than 20 properties for prices much below the market value. While the estimated market value of the properties was put at Rs. 736 crores, the exchequer could make only Rs. 239.35 crores through their sale. The Republic Forge Company, for instance, was sold for Rs. 16 crores as against the market value of over Rs. 25 crores and a Minister at that time ensured that only his brother filed a tender.

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