Tirupati: December 18 Senior YSRCP and former TTD chairman leader B Karunakar Reddy has accused the NDA coalition government of “conspiring” to hand over highly valuable TTD land to luxury hotel group Oberoi under the guise of tourism development.
Karunakar Reddy alleged that over 20 acres of prime TTD land near Alipiri, valued at more than Rs 460 crore as per registration records and over Rs 3,000 crore in open market terms, was exchanged for tourism department land worth about Rs 18 crore.
“This is a conspiracy by the NDA coalition government to hand over highly valuable TTD land to luxury hotel group Oberoi under the pretext of tourism development,” Karunakar Reddy said in a press release issued late on Wednesday.
The former devasthanam chairman said a special TTD board meeting had been organised on May 7, 2025 to approve the exchange, with a government order following on August 7 formalising the deal. He questioned why the value of the land had been omitted from the agenda and why the property donated by devotees had been referred to as Inam land.
Karunakar Reddy said this raises doubts about the transparency of the entire process. He charged that the entire move had been orchestrated to allow Oberoi Hotels to construct a luxury property near the sacred Tirumala Hills, despite Chandrababu Naidu himself opposition to the project when in opposition.
“This is not development, it is daylight robbery,” the former TTD chairman maintained. He called on devotees to protest demanding an immediate rollback of the government order in this regard.
Responding to Karunakar Reddy’s allegations, TTD termed his claims incorrect. It clarified that under the previous government, 24.68 acres near Lord Venkateswara’s Swami’s holy feet in Alipiri had been allocated to Oberoi Hotels in November 2021. This drew concern from devotees and religious organizations. Following this,
TTD passed resolutions in November 2024, May 2025, and July 2025 seeking cancellation of the land allotment to ensure that the northern site adjacent to the sacred Tirumala Hills remained under TTD control. Instead, the southern land along Alipiri-Cherlopalli Road, where several structures already exist, has been transferred to the Tourism Department.
TTD maintained that the decisions have been made to protect the sanctity and safety of the Tirumala Hills and to accommodate devotees’ future needs. The temple administration asserted that allegations regarding misuse of temple lands are unfounded and not in line with the devotees’ sentiments.
