BRS Govt using 'Master Plan' as a tool to destroy Green Zones: Shabbir Ali

Kamareddy: Former Minister & ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has accused the BRS Govt of using the 'Master Plan' as a tool to grab precious cultivable lands belonging to farmers across the State.

He was addressing a massive protest organised by the farmers of Adlur village in Kamareddy district on Tuesday.

Shabbir Ali alleged that the BRS Govt took away thousands of acres of farmers' land in the name acquisition for various projects. Now it is targeting the farmers' lands by coming up with new Master Plans for various municipalities. He said that the BRS Govt was destroying the Green Zones by acquiring thousands of acres of land in the name of expansion and development. He said the 'Master Plans' were not prepared scientifically and they were aimed at boosting the real estate prices to benefit the BRS leaders.

He pointed out that the Town Planning Department of Kamareddy Municipality issued a notification on 12th November for the implementation of a new master plan. "The new master plan is faulty and it was issued without following the due procedures. It was not prepared on a scientific basis. This is bound to harm several farmers as they will lose their valuable cultivable lands and livelihood," he alleged.

Citing specific instances, he said the Industrial Areas shown in Tekriyal, Adloor and Inchipur villages were all agricultural land where two crops are cultivated. If these lands are taken away for the master plan, not only these agricultural lands will be lost, but all the neighbouring lands will also get polluted, he alleged.

"The Telangana Government has been trying to shift industrial zones located within Hyderabad's boundaries to the city's outskirts. But in Kamareddy Municipality, it wants to bring the industries within the residential zone. This will lead to huge pollution impacting the health and livelihood of common citizens," he feared, adding that the same pattern was being adopted in many other municipalities.

Shabbir Ali said that the planning of roads too was not done scientifically. "Master Plans are primarily made for expansion of towns, roads and other infrastructure. But the Kamareddy Municipality's new Master Plan proposes a reduction in road size from 200 ft to 150 ft or 80 ft to 60 ft. Further, some roads are not inter-connected while peripheral roads are not connected to the by-pass road i.e., NH 44. Further, Road No NH 44 Tekriyal to Lingapur via Devanapally is proposed to be expanded to 100 feet. But this should be ideally confined to 60 feet. Similarly, other roads mentioned in the proposed Master Plan should be re-aligned and re-sized as per the demands, suggestions and objections of the affected parties," he demanded.

The Congress leader said that the State Govt should relocate the Industrial Zone to outside some other area instead of bringing it closer to populated areas. "The government should take note that Kamareddy Municipality/Town is commercial-cum agriculture based. Hence, it should be developed without causing any damage to the green zone and without polluting the existing residential and agricultural areas. In a regular Master Plan, only 5% of land gets earmarked for industrial areas. But in Kamareddy Municipality, nearly 6.8% of the land has been earmarked for industries. This is technically wrong and not suitable for the environment," he said.

Shabbir Ali said that the interest of the farmers must be protected at all costs and their valuable lands should not be taken away in the name of development. Stating that a Farmers' Joint Action Committee has been formed to agitate against the new master plan, he announced full support to the JAC in all its future programmes. He said he would speak to TPCC President A. Revanth Reddy to request him to join the protest. He said that the agitation would continue until the State Govt withdraws its proposed Master Plan for Kamareddy Municipality. He informed that he has written a letter to Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao in this regard.

Kamareddy DCC President Kailsa Srinivas Rao, Gudem Srinivas Reddy, Pandla Raju, Bheem Reddy, Ganesh Naik, Ananta Reddy, Linga Reddy, Youth leader Gudugula Srinivas and other senior leaders also participated in the protest.