In a move being dubbed as sheer abuse of power, the Telangana government has allotted up to 4,935 square yards of land in Hyderabad for the construction of the district office of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi party. The allocated land is situated in NBT Nagar on Road Number 12 of Banjara Hills. The plot of land is also close to the state headquarters of the TRS. It is said that the allotment has been made in tune with the party's intention to set up district level offices across the state.
According to the Government Order 47 issued by state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, the land was given in favour of the TRS for the construction of the Hyderabad district party office. The GO also stated that the government has ordered the allotment of the land after a careful examination of "circumstances" reported by the District Collector and the "recommendation" of the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA). It is learnt that the Collector’s report submission, the recommendation by the CCLA, and the order for the allotment of land – estimated to cost more than Rs 50 crore – had all taken place in the span of just two days.
Taking exception to the allotment of land to the TRS in such a prime area of Hyderabad, Congress leader and national spokesperson Professor Dasoju Sravan Kumar referred to the move as “official land grabbing by the TRS party”. The TRS has done this because it is doubtful about coming back to power in the next tenure, Sravan said. "It is a crime to grab 4,539 square yards of land in the very centre of Hyderabad overnight in this manner,” he added.
Sravan further alleged that while goons used threats to grab lands, the TRS was doing the same by sneaking GOs through the backdoor. He demanded the immediate cancellation of the allotment, instead urging the government to use this land for the construction of double bedroom houses under the dignity housing scheme for the poor.
Senior BJP leader and Dubbak MLA Raghunandan Rao Madhavaneni also accused the state government of misusing its power to cater to the needs of the TRS party. Speaking to TNM, Raghunandan said, "TRS party is not doing any favour to the poor people who are badly in need of houses. They have not allotted house sites to those in need or given three acres of land to Dalits as promised in their manifesto. But they are asking their MLAs, MPs and ministers to grab open plots of land using GOs 58, 59, etc. They have tried to regularise several plots in almost all municipalities in the state."
Raghunandan also pointed out that the representations for construction of party offices by Opposition parties were set aside by the government, even as it continued to allocate land to the ruling TRS. Their offices have already been built in some places, he said. It is not an "offence" to allocate land to political parties, but the government should see to it that all parties are treated equally, he said.
Taking to Twitter, Bahujan Samaj Party Telangana Chief Coordinator RS Praveen Kumar expressed his opposition to the way in which land was allotted to the TRS. "This is a peak reflection of the power abuse of the TRS party. Can't the TRS, which has properties worth around Rs 1,000 crore, buy an acre of land for itself? For what great deeds should your party be given lands worth hundreds of crores for free?"
ఇది #TRS అధికార దుర్వినియోగానికి పరాకాష్ట. 1000 కోట్ల రూపాయల ఆస్తులున్న TRS పార్టీ ఒక ఎకరం భూమి కొనుక్కోలేదా? ఏం వెలగబెట్టిండ్రని మీకు నగరంలో వందలకోట్ల విలువైన భూమి ఫ్రీ గా ఇయ్యాలె?What are those extraordinary circumstances which led to issue of this GO,CS garu? #SaveTelangana pic.twitter.com/idrmUcaYpT
— Dr.RS Praveen Kumar (@RSPraveenSwaero) May 12, 2022
Praveen Kumar also asked the Chief Secretary to reveal the "extraordinary circumstances" that led to the issue of such a GO.