HYDRAA lands to mobilise funds!

metro india news I hyderabad

The Telangana Government is caught in a catch-22 situation. It has to implement the election promises and incur heavily on welfare schemes. Added to this is the Metro expansion, Musi rejuvenation, Regional Ring Road, industrial corridors and other infrastructure projects.

While massive spending continues on farmer welfare, schemes related to women, Indiramma housing construction, and the education and health sectors, thousands of crores in investments are also required for irrigation projects and urban infrastructure development. The state government is already under a significant debt burden, and annual interest payments are also rising substantially. 

In addition, salaries of employees, pensions, pending bills of various departments, payments to contractors, power subsidies and welfare scheme expenditure are imposing an extra financial burden on the government. Meanwhile, revenue from the state’s share of GST, stamp duty, 

excise and commercial taxes is not increasing to the expected levels, which officials believe is affecting the government’s financial plans. In these circumstances, financial pressure on the treasury is growing day by day. 

As a result, the Telangana government has specially focused on alternative sources of revenue. It is holding talks with public sector and private banks as well as financial institutions to raise loans. Alongside this, the government is reportedly taking steps to monetise government lands recovered from encroachments through HYDRAA.

As part of this, preparations are underway on a proposal to bring more than 3,000 acres of valuable government land to auction in phases. In particular, the process of identifying high-value lands in the Hyderabad IT corridor and areas around the Outer Ring Road (ORR) is continuing. If this proposal materialises, it could generate revenue of Rs 90,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore for the state treasury. Official circles estimate that this would rank among the largest government land monetisation exercises in the history of Telangana. Government focusing on HYDRA lands…

As part of administrative needs, the government is making efforts to raise long-term loans from domestic financial institutions such as SBI, Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Indian Railway Finance Corporation and NABARD, as well as from international institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank where necessary.

In addition, officials say that after the formation of HYDRAA, thousands of acres of land in Hyderabad and surrounding areas have come back under government control. From the lands taken over through HYDRAA, lands that need to be allotted for public purposes, lakes, nalas and green buffer zones related to environmental protection are being completely excluded. 

As these areas have emerged as centres for IT, pharma, data centres, commercial and high-end residential projects, land prices have risen significantly over the past few years. Consequently, the government is currently focusing on the auction of lands taken over by HYDRAA in these areas.

On the lines of the previous government…Monetising government lands is not a new concept for Telangana. During the previous BRS government’s tenure as well, valuable government lands in and around Hyderabad were auctioned in phases under the aegis of HMDA and TSIIC, mobilising substantial revenue. In particular, the e-auction of Kokapet Neopolis lands in 2021 created a sensation across the country.

Record bids in that auction fetched the government thousands of crores of rupees. Subsequent auctions held in Raidurgam, Nanakramguda, Budwel, Khanapur and other areas also received an excellent response from investors. Going by past auction experience, areas near the IT corridor, ORR surroundings and the Financial District.

Monetising land

Lands with clear government ownership, free of legal disputes and suitable for commercial development are being specially identified. While examining the possibility of using a portion of these for government offices and public infrastructure, preparations are also underway on a proposal to monetise the lands with the highest market value through auctions in phases. 

Official sources indicate that details of more than 3,000 acres of land are being collected and the process of examining their market value, legal status and land use as per the master plan is continuing. Special attention is reportedly being paid to lands in Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Kokapet, Raidurgam, Nanakramguda, Financial District, Neopolis, Khanapur, Narsingi, Puppalaguda and areas around the ORR corridor.