Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Friday announced the cancellation of land allotments, approvals given to private players during former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure, to build plush resorts abutting the sacred Tirumala hills.

The now-shelved projects include a controversial five-star resort by Mumtaz Hotels Limited, a subsidiary of The Oberoi Group, planned on a 20-acre parcel.

The resort plan has faced stiff resistance primarily around the name ‘Mumtaz’ near the Lord Venkateshwara temple, a world-famous Hindu shrine that attracts millions of devotees from across the globe.

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The name, Hindu groups and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged, would offend the sentiments of Hindus visiting the temple, besides concerns over non-vegetarian food and alcohol being served at the luxury resort in the Tirumala hills vicinity.

Hindu organisations and seers had held several demonstrations against the construction of the resort, including a sit in protest and hunger strike in February in front of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administrative building. They demanded that CM Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan immediately intervene to revoke the land allotment orders and stop the construction.

Naidu’s announcement on Friday came as several seers, led by Andhra Pradesh Sadhu Parishad president Sirnivasananda Saraswati, intensified their protests against the Mumtaz Hotels. One such protest group was reportedly detained by the Tirupati Police earlier this week as they were proceeding towards the Tirumala shrine.

On Friday, while visiting Tirumala on the occasion of his grandson Nara Devansh’s birthday, CM Naidu said, “The seven hills at Tirupati are the abode of Lord Venkateshwara. Their purity should be preserved; no undesired activities should be allowed here.”

నా మనవడు దేవాన్ష్ పుట్టినరోజు సందర్భంగా కుటుంబసభ్యులతో కలిసి తిరుమల శ్రీ వేంకటేశ్వర స్వామిని దర్శించుకున్నాను. అనంతరం రంగనాయకుల మండపంలో వేద పండితుల ఆశీర్వచనాలు అందుకున్నాం. ఈ సందర్భంగా తరిగొండ వెంగమాంబ అన్నదాన సత్రంలో ఒక రోజు ప్రసాదాల పంపిణీకి అయ్యే ఖర్చు రూ.44 లక్షలను విరాళంగా… pic.twitter.com/vDP2abmO3q

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) March 21, 2025

“I always operate for public good. We are cancelling the approvals given to Mumtaz Hotels and others here. There should be no commercial activity in the seven hills precincts. We will protect Lord Venkateshwara’s assets,” he added, speaking at a media conference at Tirumala.

However, the CM also indicated that lands could be given to the hotel firms at a different location in Tirupati, away from the Tirumala hills.

ThePrint reached out to the Mumtaz Hotels via email for comment. The report will be updated if and when a response is received.

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BJP welcomes announcement

The BJP, a partner of Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party in the state and at the Centre, welcomed the move.

“Jagan, with his anti-Hindu approach, recklessly allotted lands for hotels, resorts etc., adjacent the hills and thus hurt the devotee sentiments,” Bhanu Prakash Reddy, a state BJP leader and member of the TTD board, told ThePrint. “We welcome CM Naidu’s decision to cancel the land allocations valuing the devotee feelings.”

The TTD—reconstituted in November, following TDP-BJP-Janasena Party victory in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections last year—had in its first meet itself approved a resolution to ask the state government to cancel the Mumtaz and other hotel-resort projects, Reddy said.

He added that amid the opposition, the hotel group had approached the government, proposing that it would only serve vegetarian food and no-alcohol, but the government “rightly considering the public opinion, finally decided to shelve the project”, while exploring relocation options.

While non-vegetarian food and alcohol are strictly prohibited on the Tirumala hills, the resorts were planned near the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park and Alipiri, the gateway to the hill shrine.

The Mumtaz Hotels project was announced as part of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) policy to enhance tourism and expand job opportunities for the local youth.

The Kolkata-based Mumtaz Hotels’ March 2023 lease agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation was for 90 years, excluding a four-year construction period. The YSRCP administration gave it concessions, such as a 100 percent waiver on Land Use Conversion charges.

According to the company’s report for the year 2023-24, the five star luxury resort was to become operational by March 2027 with the name ‘Trident–Tirupati’.

Spread over 20 acres with an estimated investment of about Rs 250 crore and potential employment of 1,500 youth, the project’s planned components included 100 villas or rooms, multi-cuisine and fine-dining restaurants, and conference facilities, along with a banquet hall, 24-hour coffee shop, bar and lounge, swimming pool, fitness centre, and state-of-the-art spa, among others.

(Edited by Sanya Mathur)

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