The State government is investigating former State Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar for his involvement in land deals. It is alleged that he purchased lands at cheap prices in the Greater Hyderabad area. Somesh Kumar was instrumental in the creation of the Dharani portal, which faced criticism from opposition parties, especially the Congress, during the previous regime. The Congress also accused him of favoring certain leaders and realty companies in land deals through the portal.
One of the allegations against Somesh Kumar is that he bought land in Yacharam mandal, where the government had plans to develop a pharma city. Records show that he purchased 25 acres of land at Kothapally in the pharma city area in 2018, at a cost of only Rs 2 lakh per acre. The government suspects that he may have obtained the land from some landowners in exchange for facilitating the pharma city at low prices.
A sale deed document reveals that Somesh Kumar bought the land in his wife’s name, Gyanmudra, from N Venugopal S Vijaya Lakshmi, R Yugendar Reddy, and others. However, it is unclear whether these documents have been verified and sent to the government for further investigation.
