Telangana BJP has sought the intervention of Governor Tamilsai Soundararajan to safeguard land worth ₹5,000 crore or more belonging to erstwhile public sectors companies like HMT and IDPL in the capital region from illegal occupation and encroachments.
Submitting a memorandum to the Governor at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday, a copy of which was released to the media, former vice president and ex-independent director-HAL, S. Malla Reddy and others – B. Shankar Reddy, B. Srinivas and P. Lakshmipathi, said the cost of each acre was estimated to be about ₹30 crore, but the State government was showing little interest in protecting it from encroachments.
The HMT unit, spread across 880 acres, was once used to make tractors, bulbs and machine tools, now but only the machine tools unit is functioning. The public sector company once boasted of a lively township with quarters, playgrounds, community hall and so on, but due to lack of proper security measures, about 50 acres have come under illegal occupation worth hundreds of crores of rupees in connivance with the ruling party functionaries, they charged.
The government had recently taken over 120 acres under the pretext of “excess land” after 60 years of occupation without following due procedure. This was after the HMT management had earlier handed over land for police station, electric sub-station, agro industry and municipal office, they maintained.
The BJP leaders told Dr. Soundararajan that IDPL was established on 891 acres with just 20 acres of this under barbed wire fencing and about 100 acres having been usurped illegally by realtors, religious structures, and hut dwellers, even while the police and revenue officials failed to take any action. A private outsourced security firm is looking after the land protection but it is beyond them.
Dr.Soundararajan was requested to use her good offices to convince the government to protect the lands and make use of the land for public purposes like hospitals, parks, playgrounds, etc. The existing buildings can be given on lease to private firms, the memorandum added.
