763 acres of HMDA land encroached

HMDA had planned to construct an education hub which is now unlikely to see the light of day. Some 60 individuals are in possession of the land, but according to a report they are all benamis of a public representative

In an astonishing case of massive encroachment, about 763 acres of land belonging to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) at Jawaharnagar was encroached. These encroachments weren’t by one particular individual. According to the details with the HMDA, as many as 60 different people together had encroached on the land.

In 2008, the revenue department gave 2,361.35 acres of land between Jawaharnagar and Shamirpet, close to the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to the HMDA. Of this land, 600 acres were allotted to the BITS Pilani. Of the remaining 1,700 acres, now about 763 acres have been encroached and nearly 500 acres are under litigation.

An acre of land in the area costs Rs 40-60 lakh and rough estimates say that these encroachments have dealt a loss of Rs 350 crore to the HMDA. Earlier, in the month of February, acting on the complaints of encroachments, HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad constituted a committee. The committee submitted a report two weeks ago which revealed the alarming facts.

According to the report, 146.35 acres were encroached and that the HMDA is battling the issue in courts. Some 220.34 acres were completely encroached and in 395.38 acres of encroached land constructions have already started and the HMDA is now left with only 264.23 acres of land.

Few sections within the HMDA allege that the encroachments were carried out with the help of insiders in the organisation. According to them, these encroachments were carried out over a period of six years, encroaching grid after grid. Though the report mentioned that there were 60 different individuals who were responsible, it was alleged that all those were benamis of a public representative.

What happens to the education hub?

A mega education hub to house premier institutions was supposed to come up in this area. It was widely reported that many premier institutes have already approached the state government and sought allotment of land in the 700 acres belonging to the HMDA. The government even gave a nod to these institutions.

The institutions which approached the government include XLRI, Jamshedpur; and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER). Both the institutions sought 100 acres each to set up their campus. Currently NIPER is functioning on the premises of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceutical Ltd (IDPL) in Balanagar. Singareni Collieries has asked for about 30 acres for setting up a training institute while some others like the All India Management Schools Association have asked for land ranging from 10 to 50 acres.

However, with reports of only 264.23 acres available with the HMDA, it would be interesting to see what action it would take on the encroachers.