NGO accuses DMK minister, sons of grabbing prime land worth Rs 400 crore in Chennai

Chennai: Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO, on Tuesday filed a complaint before the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) alleging that Dairy Development Minister R S Rajakannappan and his sons have “grabbed” 5 acres of prime property owned by the government near the Chennai Airport. 

In the complaint, the NGO alleged that Prabhu Kannappan, Diwakar Kannappan, and Dilip Kumar Kannappan have grabbed the government land worth Rs 400 crore in two survey numbers of St. Thomas Mount village in the heart of Chennai. 

Rajakannappan, an influential Yadava leader from southern Tamil Nadu, held the high-profile Electricity and Public Works portfolio in the 1991-1996 J Jayalalithaa government and is now the Dairy Development Minister in the M K Stalin dispensation. He also served as MLA of Ilayankudi between 2006 and 2011. 

 The petition submitted by Jayaram Venkatesan, Convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, alleged that Deccan Fun Island and Hotels Pvt Ltd in which Rajakannappan’s three sons are directors and hold 33 per cent shares each have “encroached” the government land. The company’s shares were held by Gadhiya family in the 1990s but were transferred to the minister’s son subsequently when Rajakannappan was in the AIADMK. 

The land was mortgaged by Deccan’s Fun Island and Hotels Private Limited, mortgaged but was released in 2018. However, Deccan Fun Island and Hotels Pvt Ltd’s lawyer G Saravana Kumar issued a statement outright refuting charges levelled against it by Arappor Iyakkam. 

 “The company secured an order in favour of it in 2017 after a 23-year struggle and has been functioning properly with due permission…the minister’s relatives have been in the company for many years and such allegations are being raised only because of vendetta,” the lawyer said. 

He also added that the company will initiate legal proceedings, including defamation, against Arappor Iyakkam.  

 Venkatesan said the Alandur Tahsildar had in 2015 issued an order that the above survey numbers were government land and no registration should take place. However, the land was registered in 2018 under the AIADMK government, the anti-corruption activist alleged. 

 “There seems to be a clear ploy at grabbing govt land using a circuitous route. Nearby government lands which were encroached have been restored. But this land has not been recovered because there is heavy pressure from the minister on government officials. This amounts to misuse of power and corruption,” Venkatesan added. 

In the complaint, Venkatesan demanded registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against all those involved in the case, including the minister and his sons, and officials of the revenue and registration departments. The NGO also demanded that the government immediately recover the land from the private parties and utilize it for public purposes. 

Besides filing the complaint, Arappor Iyakkam has also written letters to Chief Minister M K Stalin and his deputy Udhayanidhi Stalin to take steps to retrieve the land as soon as possible.