Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Industrial Lands Transformation Policy (HILTP), recently introduced by the Congress government, has faced strong criticism from both the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who alleged that prime industrial land in Hyderabad is being handed over to a politician–realtor nexus under the guise of policy reform.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao, on Tuesday, December 2, announced that his party will form eight fact-finding committees with senior leaders to conduct field investigations and bring out the truth about the ‘Rs 5 lakh crore scam.’
He alleged that the lands allocated by the previous governments for the establishment of industries and employment generation at very low prices are now being converted into real estate business under the name of ‘Multi-Use Zone.’
“About 9,300 acres of land have been regularised at a very low price, at only 30 percent of the SRO rate, and a conspiracy to loot public money worth about Rs 5 lakh crore is being hatched,” KTR said.
He said BRS leaders will conduct investigations on December 3 and 4 and try to understand the long-standing demands of locals and explore public utility projects that can be implemented through the industrial estates.
BJP approaches Governor
The BJP also submitted a memorandum to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma demanding immediate suspension of HILTP.
They also asked for the constitution of a commission headed by a retired High Court judge to examine and determine an appropriate land conversion policy for Hyderabad, and an assessment of the actual market value of the affected land parcels.
“There is widespread apprehension that influential individuals within the government have conspired to facilitate a massive transfer of public land wealth into private hands. These lands are now proposed to be reclassified for multi-purpose commercial use,” they alleged.
The party noted that the industrial estates were originally allotted at nominal prices by the then Andhra Pradesh government to promote industrial development in Hyderabad.
“However, the GO allows conversion at only 30 to 50 percent of the Sub-Registrar (SR) value, despite the steep rise in land prices across the city,” the BJP said.
The memorandum also cited current market data, claiming industrial land in these areas is valued at approximately Rs 65 crore per acre.
“If the state were to dispose of these 9,292 acres at market rate, it could realise over Rs 6 lakh crore, enough to clear Telangana’s entire public debt. Instead, allowing conversion at a mere 30 percent of SR value effectively enables private realtors to acquire prime land at throwaway prices,” the memorandum said.
Congress’ stance
The ruling Congress has defended itself by saying that the policy does not affect government lands given on lease and only imposes conversion fees on lands owned by industrialists.
“No land title transfer or freehold of government lands is involved under the policy,” stated IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, alleging that the BJP and BRS are working together to defame the government.
(With inputs from PTI)
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