Realty booms in Palampet

Ramappa Temple (Mulugu): The real estate market in and around the tiny village Palampet, the abode of Ramappa temple that recently made it to the coveted UNESCO's World Heritage Sites can see a change in fortunes. The land is premium in this part of the world as almost half the land available is under the assigned category.

After the 800-year-old architectural marvel of Kakatiya-era clinched the heritage tag on July 25, it didn't take long for the investors to wake up and scout for land to explore business opportunities related to tourism such as hotels, resorts and restaurants etc.

But for a few astute people, not many people may have believed that the shrine that was named after its sculptor Ramappa would make it to the heritage sites. Otherwise, altogether it could have been a different story with all possible vantage points having already gone into the hands of investors and realtors.

"Post UNESCO's heritage tag to Ramappa temple, enquiries about land availability have been pouring in from Hyderabad and other places, and people also started to descend on Palampet village to scout for suitable locations. But the huge problem before them is that there is not much patta land available in the vicinity of the temple," T Yadagiri, a realtor and LIC agent, told The Hans India.

Ramappa Temple Site Guide and a local Gorantla Vijay Kumar said, "With most of land was categorised under assigned, the investors have to look for land between Palampet and mandal headquarters Venkatapuram where patta land is available. Land cost that was anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh until recently is now going to be out of the reach of small-time realtors who make plots and sell them. Now, anticipating a huge turnout of tourists, including domestic and foreign, to the temple, the landowners have doubled the price of their land."

The landowners who have land adjacent to the main road have already expected a bumper price – anywhere close to Rs 1 crore per acre. In fact, land prices in the region have witnessed a hike since Mulugu was made district headquarters. Mushrooming of real estate ventures around Bhupalpally and Mulugu for the last couple of years indicates that land has become a premium in the region with the UNESCO's World Heritage Tag to Ramappa Temple adding more boom to the real estate business.