HMDA Ex-officials Accused of Land Scam

Hyderabad: Serious allegations have surfaced against two former top officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) for allegedly approving construction on government land in Puppalaguda.

A formal complaint was lodged with the Telangana Lokayukta by Rama Rao Immaneni, a resident of Padmaraonagar, naming former HMDA commissioner Arvind Kumar and former director-I of Planning, Shiva Bala Krishna, along with DSR SSI Builders and Developers.

According to the complaint, Arvind Kumar, during his tenure as metropolitan commissioner, and Shiva Bala Krishna, then director-I of Planning at HMDA, allegedly facilitated building permissions for the developer. The complainant claimed the officials granted approvals to DSR SSI Builders and Developers, represented by managing partner D. Raghurami Reddy, despite the land being categorised as government property.

The complaint noted, “There is an express prohibition on transfer, alienation or development of the lands referred above due to their classification as government Lands.”

The permission in question — No. 045981/Z0A/R1/U6/HMDA/25052021, dated June 18, 2021 — sanctioned the construction of Blocks A and B (ground plus 41 upper floors) and a clubhouse (ground plus six floors, along with four basement levels). The land covers 31,736 square yards in Survey Nos. 278/1, 280 and 281 of Puppalaguda village, currently under Gandipet mandal in Ranga Reddy district.

The complainant also cited relevant government orders — GO Ms No. 1092 (dated June 6, 2005) and GO Ms No. 779 (dated May 27, 2017) — as well as orders from the collector and RDO, which classified the land as government property. Despite this, the officials allegedly issued construction permissions to the private builder, the complaint said.