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Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday, December 4, alleged that the Congress government in Telangana is committing a huge land scam of Rs 5 lakh crore in the name of the Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation Policy.
He alleged that the lands that were once given by the government to industries to create jobs for people are now being given to private individuals.
The state government recently issued a Government Order (GO) to implement HILTP for the strategic conversion of industrial land within and near the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to productive and integrated urban spaces.
The GO 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.
KTR led a field-level visit to Jeedimetla industrial area as part of the party's fact-finding mission on Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation Policy (HILTP).
The former minister interacted with workers and urged them to resist the "loot" by the government.
He alleged that the government is giving industrial lands to build apartments, villas and commercial complexes as it does not want industries.
KTR, along with other BRS leaders, participated in a rally to protest against HILTP.
He stated that these are not private lands, but lands given by the government to private individuals with the condition that industries should be set up to employ people. He demanded that people's assets should remain with people.
Claiming that while the market price for these lands is Rs 1 lakh per square yard, the government is handing them to private individuals for just Rs 4,000.
He urged the real estate developers not to get cheated with the "sale offer" by the government and warned that once BRS returns to power, it would take back these lands.
Calling Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, a "corruption Anaconda", KTR alleged that the Congress leader was "conspiring" to sell the lands to send the "share" to Delhi leaders.
"There is no land for houses, schools, hospitals and even cemeteries in Hyderabad city, but the government is saying that it will give 9300 acres of land to private individuals," KTR said.
He said the government's action would render hundreds of workers, who depend on industrial units for livelihood, jobless.
He said the BRS leaders were visiting industrial areas to explain to the people the "scam".
"The purpose of these visits is to ascertain the facts like the price of land being given to private individuals by the Congress party," he said.
KTR said that the BRS would soon organise an all-party meeting on the scam in the name of HILTP.
The BRS also proposes to explain this issue to the people in various colonies and organise roundtable meetings.
The BRS leader said they would move ahead with the support of people and opposition parties and continue their struggle till the policy is withdrawn.
KTR said, if necessary, the BRS will fight a legal battle. He reiterated that the policy will be scrapped once the BRS comes back to power.
On the reported probe by the Congress government into the leak of the relevant government order, the BRS leader said a ‘son’ of Telangana, who could not bear to see such a huge scam and loot, gave them the information.