Hyderabad: Local officials are scouting for government-owned land parcels to offer the Army in lieu of the nearly 60-acre Bison Polo Ground and about 100 acres for the expressways under the Strategic Road Development Project, but have done nothing as far as alternative roads in the Secunderabad Cantonment are concerned.
The Local Military Authority (LMA) and the GHMC held a series of talks in the last few weeks to come to a mutual understanding on alternative roads to be built for diverting vehicular traffic. Unless the land exchange is finalised, neither will the Army give up its land nor will the GHMC be in a position to take up civic works.
The alternative roads under discussion are from Safilguda railway gate to Allahabad Gate and from RK Puram to Safilguda. The LMA has to part with 33 acres for the project. The options before the state government is to either make a monetary payment or offer alternative land.
For the new Secretariat and SRDP projects, the government has directed collectors to send details of large tracts of vacant lands in the districts to offer the LMA. The government is seeking nearly 160 acres of prime defence land for these two projects and in return has to offer a large portion of the vacant land of equal value. The value of land in the districts and far-off places would be understandably less compared to Rs 10 crore per acre in the capital.
Ranga Reddy (Jawaharnagar), Vikarabad, Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthy, Nizamabad and Nalgonda are some of the districts where alternative lands were shown earlier.
The LMA is looking for a better choice. “It is difficult for the state government to find a large piece of land other than those shown earlier, and it is a few hours’ drive from Hyderabad. Ultimately, one among these has to be finalised,” an official said.
