The Andhra Pradesh government has announced that it is committed to resolving the long-pending AgriGold issue within the next six months. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu made the announcement during the recent state cabinet meeting and directed officials to speed up the entire process.
The decision has brought fresh hope to thousands of families who have been waiting for justice for nearly twelve years. Victims, agents and welfare associations welcomed the move and described it as a major step towards ending one of South India’s biggest financial fraud cases.
During the cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister held detailed discussions on the AgriGold scam and reviewed the status of pending issues. He instructed officials to ensure that victims receive justice within six months. The government also decided to form a three-member committee to monitor and accelerate the resolution process.
According to the government, more than 11.5 lakh people in Andhra Pradesh alone were affected by the scam. Across eight states, including Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, the total number of victims is estimated to be close to 20 lakh.
The Chief Minister strongly criticised the previous YSR Congress Party government and alleged that the case was deliberately weakened during its tenure. He also accused certain CID officials of misusing funds connected to the case.
He recalled that victims and agents had staged indefinite hunger strikes demanding justice. He said the latest cabinet discussion proves that the government has kept its word. At the same time, he urged the administration to avoid further delays and immediately appoint the proposed committee. He also requested quick decisions on auctioning AgriGold properties, conducting public sales of attached assets and setting up a special court to handle the matter faster.
AgriGold started operations in 1995 and attracted people by offering investment schemes with promises of high returns. The company collected small monthly deposits from middle-class and lower-income families through a network of agents. Investors were told they would receive double the amount after maturity or get land registrations in return for their deposits. Trusting the company, lakhs of people, including farmers, labourers, small traders and daily wage workers invested their savings. Over the years, AgriGold expanded rapidly across multiple states and gathered deposits from nearly 20 lakh people.
By 2014, the company began facing severe financial problems. Many depositors who completed their maturity period neither received money nor land. Investigations later revealed that the scam involved more than Rs 6,000 crore.
For lakhs of victims, the latest cabinet decision has revived hope after years of disappointment. If the government succeeds in completing the process within the promised timeline, it could finally bring relief to families that have spent more than a decade waiting for justice.
