HYDERABAD: Asserting that the primary aim of the Hyderabad Industrial Lands Transformation (HILT) policy was to improve air and water quality in the city, by relocating polluting industries beyond the Outer Ring Road (ORR), IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu on Tuesday said that the objective was to provide a cleaner environment for residents and future generations.
He accused critics of spreading misinformation even before the policy’s formal release.
Clarifying concerns, the minister said the lands proposed for conversion do not belong to the government but to industrial owners, who have full ownership rights. He said participation in the policy was voluntary and time-bound. “It is not mandatory. No one is being forced. Industrial owners who wish to convert their lands must apply through the TG-iPASS portal within six months,” he said.
Sridhar made these remarks during a short discussion on the HILT policy in the Assembly. Responding to allegations by BRS leaders that the government was selling land at throwaway prices, which BJP leaders have also echoed, Sridhar cited past decisions.
He said that following a Supreme Court judgment, the then government in 2013 decided to shift polluting industries out of the city. He referred to GO Ms. No. 19 issued on August 29, 2023, by the previous BRS government, granting freehold rights on lease lands where the government retained ownership.
“What was the intent behind granting private rights over government land, and why are BRS leaders silent on this?” he asked. He also cited attempts under the GRID Policy in December 2020 to hand over government land to private individuals and questioned the BJP’s silence at the time.
He said opposition leaders who visited industrial areas later found that the policy had been introduced at the request of industrial owners and associations.
Sridhar said the policy was framed after consultations with experts and an assessment of ground realities by a Cabinet sub-committee led by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. He said the conversion fee was fixed in accordance with rules and that the government was maintaining transparency.
Addressing concerns about the use of vacated lands, he said, “Our objective is to bring defunct and unproductive industrial lands back into productive use for maximum public utility.”
Sridhar said the issue should not be viewed as a routine land-use change. “This is not merely an amendment of revenue records. It is about relocating polluting industries beyond the ORR to ensure clean air and clean water for future generations,” he said.
Tracing Hyderabad’s industrial growth since the 1970s, he said areas once on the outskirts had become residential and commercial hubs. With factories now adjacent to homes, he said toxic emissions posed risks to public health. He cited studies showing groundwater contamination with heavy metals and warned of long-term health impacts. Referring to examples from the UK and China, he asked whether politics could be set aside to relocate polluting industries for the city’s future.
HILT policy key to liveable Hyd: Uttam
Defending the HILT policy, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday asserted that it was essential to make Hyderabad more liveable and ensure sustainable growth for Telangana. Participating in a discussion, Uttam said the policy was voluntary and aimed at improving environmental conditions.
“This policy is good for Hyderabad and Telangana. It will help make Hyderabad a global metropolitan city,” he said, rejecting opposition criticism that it should be mandatory. He challenged the BRS and BJP to state their stand clearly.
“Do you want polluting industries to be shifted outside the Outer Ring Road or not? Is your criticism only that it is voluntary? If you want it to be mandatory, say so openly,” he said, adding that leasehold lands would not be eligible under the policy and only fully owned lands would be considered.
Dismissing allegations that thousands of acres and huge sums were being siphoned off, the minister said the policy sought to correct decades-old problems that had rendered several industrial and residential areas uninhabitable.