Hyderabad: The Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) introduced by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has not yielded good results.
The proposal put forth by the municipal authority did not attract the interest of farmers or land owners. As a result of the increase in land value, the land owners have been demanding 1,500 square yards per acre after development against the 1,000 square yard norm set by the government as per GO No 306 dated December 7, 2017.
This unexpected backlash from the land owners have put the municipal authority in a fix since it was relying on the LPS to meet its expenditure and major developmental programmes in the city. However, officials said that the issue would be taken to the notice of the state government and it would be asked to come to their rescue. On the contrary, officials who were in favour of the government said that everything was “going well and the so-called backlash from farmers was false news”.
According to them, the land owners had given oral consent and title verification would be done in three days and pooling would be done in a week.
According to highly placed sources in HMDA, the municipal authority had decided to pool 400 acres in Pratap Singaram, 150 aces in Choutuppal, 150 acres in Nagaram and 60 acres in Bhongir. As per norms, HMDA would develop plots in 2,800 square yards per acre and the remaining area would be used to provide amenities like roads, water, electricity and sewerage. After the development, the original land owners would be given 1,000 square yards per acre and the remaining would be auctioned by the municipal authority. The expenditure garnered would be used for taking up long pending projects and other developmental activities in the city. However, this unexpected demand from farmers and land owners have shaken the municipal authority and forced it to knock on the doors of the government either to change the GO or convince the farmers.
