HYDERABAD: Issuing a strong rebuttal to BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s allegations of a land scam worth Rs 4 lakh crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babusaid that the former was relying solely on a vicious campaign, even after the same strategy failed in the Jubilee Hills byelection. He said KTR was viewing the developments through the prism of the BRS’s decade-long corruption and misgovernance.
He explained that the Directorate of Industries is implementing the process of granting freehold rights to leaseholders of land in three industrial estates — Azamabad, CIE Balanagar and MIE Hafeezpet — and added that only those possessing ownership rights are eligible to apply for conversion.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat, Sridhar Babu described KTR’s accusations as baseless. He said that the proposed Hyderabad Industrial Lands Transformation Policy (HILTP) applies only to lands in industrial estates and industrial lands within the ORR, where land is already under freehold. He added that the policy does not apply to Azamabad, Balanagar and Hafeezpet, as the previous BRS government had already issued GOs Ms No 19, 20 and 21 for these areas.
“KTR has surpassed the stage of speaking about thousands of crores. He now talks only in lakhs of crores,” the minister quipped.
He said KTR was treating “freehold” and “leasehold” land as the same, without understanding the distinction, despite having served as minister for IT, Industries and MAUD for nearly 10 years. Of the 9,292 acres cited by KTR, only 4,740 acres were allotted to industries after being properly plotted, while the remaining land was used for essential infrastructure such as roads and drainage systems, he clarified.
“These allocations were not made in a single day. They were carried out over several decades to promote industrial development,” the minister said, adding that it was the BRS government that had granted freehold ownership for industrial lands in Ameerpet and Kukatpally.
“Just four months before the 2023 elections, you granted freehold rights. How many thousands of crores did you collect then?” Sridhar Babu asked.
‘Govt only charging conversion fee, which is not sale of land’
Sridhar Babu added that the government is charging a 30% conversion fee, which is not a sale of land. The fee would generate revenue for the state exchequer, and 25% of the amount collected would go to the TGIIC — the nodal agency — for the creation of basic infrastructure, he added.
The move, he clarified, would enable industries to set up units outside the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to reduce pollution within the city. HMDA and MAUD norms must be strictly followed, and any deviation will not be tolerated, he added.
Sridhar Babu said that after several rounds of consultations with industry bodies, the special chief secretary and the commissioner of Industries jointly proposed the 30% and 50% slabs. He also condemned KTR’s allegation that the chief minister’s family members had signed agreements.
“None of them holds any position in the government. A person who served as a minister for 10 years stooping to such wild allegations is unacceptable. If he has evidence, let him produce it. The government will act accordingly,” Sridhar Babu said.