SIDDIPET: The land prices in Siddipet district have shot through the roof what with the construction of projects such as Kondapochamma Sagar, Ranganayak Sagar and Mallanna Sagar here. Those who have lost their land under the projects do not have the wherewithal to buy another piece of land in the district as the compensation paid to them by the government is not enough to do so.
While the farmers who lost their land to various projects received around Rs 7-Rs 12 lakh per acre depending on various factors and the projects, land prices have now shot up, even touching `4 crore per acre in some places. Jagan Mohan, a resident of Thoguta mandal, said the land prices around Mallanna Sagar shot up after the project was grounded.
An acre of land which used to cost Rs 1 crore about five years ago costs Rs 4 crore now. He said farmers who purchased land immediately after they received the compensation are better off, but those who delayed it are in deep waters now.
Jagan also said a realtor, who recently bought an acre of land for Rs 4 crore, divided it into plots and sold each plot for Rs 40,000 per square yard. Shivakumar, a resident of Dubbak, said even in the interior villages, one acre of land costs Rs 50 lakh now. With the proposed projects becoming a reality, people are keen on investing their money in lands in the district as they expect its prices to go up further in future. With the irrigation projects bringing more land under cultivation, big farmers are going in for land purchases as they need not dig borewells or have pumps to cultivate crops.
People can’t even afford house sites
Shankariah, a farmer who lost 10 acres of his land under Kondapochamma Sagar project, said he had to shell out `1 crore to buy one acre of land in the area. He said as the project is just 50 km away from Hyderabad, most people from the city were keen on purchasing land in Siddipet district that has led to the rising land prices.
Apart from farm land, people are finding it difficult to buy house sites in Gajwel constituency. A square yard in the area costs around `30,000 to `50,000, which is out of reach of many. Speaking to Express, a realtor said the land prices will further increase in a year after work on all the projects is completed.