Hyderabad, Dec 1 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana has sought Governor Jishnu Dev Varma’s intervention to stop what it calls an attempt by the Congress government to hand over 9,292 acres of valuable land in Hyderabad to a politician-realtor nexus under the guise of policy reform.

A delegation of BJP leaders led by party’s state President N. Ramchander Rao called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Monday and submitted him a memorandum about Hyderabad Industrial Lands Transformation Policy (HILTP) brought by the state government for strategic conversion of industrial land within and near the Outer Ring Road to productive and integrated urban spaces.

The government order issued on November 22 cited that several industries established 50 to 60 years ago have become unviable or have shut down for various reasons.

Another reason cited is that some units fall under polluting categories and are required to be relocated.

“While the policy may appear innocuous at first glance, a close examination reveals serious concerns regarding the intent, transparency and potential loss to the public exchequer. There is widespread apprehension that influential individuals within the government have conspired to facilitate a massive transfer of public land wealth into private hands — an alleged scam estimated at more than Rs 5 lakh crore,” the memorandum said.

The Governor was told that if the state were to dispose these lands at market value, it would release more than Rs 6 lakh crore, which could clear entire public debt of Telangana.

Instead by allowing conversion at a mere 30 per cent of the Sub-Registrar value, the state government is effectively enabling the private realtors to acquire and exploit prime land at throwaway prices.

The BJP suspects that it is quid pro quo arrangement benefiting private industrialists and realtors.

It demanded immediate suspension of HILTP and constitution of a Commission headed by a retired High Court judge to examine and determine an appropriate land conversion policy for Hyderabad, to assess the status of industries classified as polluting, evaluate the socio-economic impact on workers currently employed in the affected units and determine the actual market value of these land parcels.

–IANS

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