HYDERABAD: BRS MLA and former minister T Harish Rao on Monday alleged a conspiracy to divert 200 acres of land — earmarked for the proposed Koheda fruit market — to private players.
Speaking to the media after visiting the market site on the outskirts of Hyderabad, he claimed that while the previous BRS government had sanctioned funds for the project, the current Congress administration was attempting to sell the land.
He said the BRS government had planned a world-class fruit market on 200 acres at Koheda to decongest the existing Gaddiannaram Fruit Market. During his tenure as marketing minister, land acquisition was completed and Rs 10 crore in compensation was paid to farmers, he added.
The project was formally notified through Government Order No. 11 in 2020, with `350 crore set aside in a bank account under GO 216 for construction. A detailed project report (DPR) worth Rs 1,000 crore was also prepared, envisioning not just a fruit market but also flower and fish markets at the same location — designed to meet the region’s needs for the next 100 years.
Harish said the land was presently valued at nearly Rs 3,000 crore. “The Congress government is now trying to transfer it to TGIIC, and later hand it over to private individuals,” he alleged.
Questioning the government’s priorities, the Siddipet MLA asked whether it stood with the 25,000–30,000 farmers who would benefit daily from the market, or with a handful of traders and middlemen. He strongly objected to the proposal to shift the market to an alternative site and accused the chief minister of eyeing valuable land across the state. “Wherever there is land, his intention is to sell it,” he charged.