Harish Rao alleges land-sale scam in Hyderabad industrial zones
HYDERABAD: BRS MLA and former minister Harish Rao on Saturday alleged that the state government has opened the door for a large-scale sale of nearly 10,000 acres in industrial areas to private interests. He said the Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation Policy (HILT-P) was turning into a “Hyderabad Industrial Land Looting Policy”.
New policy enables large-scale land disposal, says Rao
He said Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had focused on indiscriminate land sales ever since the Congress came to power, adding that the government was selling acres, guntas and even small parcels without restraint.
Rao said the Chief Minister, who earlier criticised land sales, was now disposing of land without leaving anything for future requirements. “This scam is twice the size of the state Budget. In two months, the Revanth government has drawn up a sketch to divert ₹5 lakh crore,” he said.
He added that minister Sridhar Babu had himself acknowledged that the government expected “lakhs of crores” through HILT-P. Rao challenged the government to convene an Assembly session and hold a full discussion if it was confident about the policy.
‘Why use only SRD rates?’
Rao asked why the government was considering Sub-Registrar (SR) rates as the benchmark despite TSIIC fixing higher prices for industrial land. He alleged that the government was handing over land to applicants at just 30% of SR rates.
He said the government had earlier promised to revise low SR rates in Hyderabad but was now pushing HILT-P without any revision. “Why is the government causing a loss of lakhs of crores to the state exchequer?” he asked.
Rao said the Congress, which accused the BRS over the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS), had collected an additional 60% to 80% over SR values from poor and middle-class homebuyers. But under HILT-P, he said, the government was allowing land conversions and change-of-land-use in a manner that deprived the HMDA of nearly ₹13,500 crore.
‘Policy designed to benefit areas beyond ORR’
He alleged that the new policy was not restricted to land within the Outer Ring Road but also targeted surrounding areas, enabling large-scale diversion. He demanded clarity on whether land-sale proceeds would be used to create new industrial parks and clusters or to clear large contractors’ bills.
‘Policy meant to benefit Enumula brothers’
Rao alleged that the policy was created to benefit the Enumula brothers, relatives of the Chief Minister. He said the policy was prepared six months ago and that agreements had already been signed by the Chief Minister’s relatives before it was made public.
He alleged that valuable land parcels had already been cornered through these deals and said he would soon release the details. Rao said the BRS had rejected a similar proposal earlier.
He added that minister Sridhar Babu was downplaying the extent of the land issue. “Why is land worth ₹5 lakh crore being given away for ₹5,000 crore? Even if they file cases or abuse me, I will not stop questioning Revanth,” he said.
