Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy distributed cheques to the AgriGold depositors at Police Parade Grounds in Guntur on Thursday.
Reddy recalled that the YSRCP had fought for the welfare of the AgriGold victims when the party was in opposition.
"The victims did not get any justice during the TDP regime, but now we are standing in their support and repaying the deposited money. I had seen for the last five years how the AgriGold victims faced problems during my padayatra. I had given assurance to them that we will resolve their grievances. Though the matter is subjudice, we are doing justice to almost 3.70 lakh victims in the first phase," he addressed the gathering.
"Now, we have released Rs 264 crore to be paid to the victims who had deposited amounts less than Rs 10,000. The YSRCP government has made allocations for this purpose in its first budget itself. In future, we will compensate the victims who had deposited amounts less than Rs 20,000," Reddy further said.
The move is the fulfilment of the pre-election promise made by Reddy, also the chief of YSR Congress Party, in his Praja Sankalpa Yatra where he had assured AgriGold depositors of resolving their problems upon coming into power.
After Reddy became the Chief Minister, a decision to make payments to AgriGold victims was taken in his first cabinet meeting.
AgriGold Company has collected Rs 6,380 crore from 32 lakh depositors from seven states by providing attractive interest rates and land through its network. The company was not able to provide money or land to the depositors.
After realising that they were cheated by the company, the depositors approached the previous TDP government which did not respond. AgriGold victims orgsed protests across the state and appealed to Reddy who assured them of support.
( With inputs from ANI )