Hyderabad: The financial interests of the state government appear to have been grossly compromised by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime in the making of Image Towers, the proposed animation and gaming hub, in the prime Raidurg area.
Backed by the powers-that-be, the private developer Salarpuria Sattva group got a bumper deal in the project with a 75 per cent share of the total built-up space and zero responsibility of creating the animation and gaming infrastructure — the very purpose for which the Image Towers was proposed.
Salarpuria Sattva also received liberty to sell or lease its share of built-up space even to companies that were not in the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector — like any other office common space developer. The entire cost of developing the AVGC infrastructure, running into crores of rupees, lay with the state government, according to the BRS-era agreement.
Documents available with Deccan Chronicle revealed that Jayesh Ranjan, information technology and industries principal secretary, had approved changes in the joint development agreement (JDA) that the government agency TSIIC (TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation) signed with Moonlike Construction Pvt Ltd — a 100 per cent subsidiary of Salarpuria Sattva group — despite some of the clauses having financial implications.
The changes were proposed and approved after the company was issued the letter of award and it complied with all the payment obligations, terms and conditions.
Despite the red carpet rolled out to the developer, the project, adjacent to T-Hub, is being executed at a snail’s pace and it does not appear that Salarpuria Sattva can meet the December 2024 deadline as the building has not been constructed beyond the foundation level.
The BRS government initially proposed to build the GAME City near the Raidurg Metro station. Following objections raised by L&T, the Metro Rail builder, to a proposal to part with its land, the location was shifted to the 10-acre site adjacent to T-Hub.
“The initial plan and cost of the project (`579 crore) shot up to Rs.945 crore following the nod given by then IT minister K.T. Rama Rao to increase the built up space from six lakh sq. ft to 16 lakh sq. ft. But, all that the government would be getting as its share was just 4.5 lakh sq. ft,” sources said.
The documents with Deccan Chronicle revealed that Salarpuria Sattva would get 12 lakh sq. ft towards its 75 per cent share for developing the Image Towers. “Agreeing for a smaller share of about 25 per cent built-up space for the government itself was detrimental to the state’s interest as the land is located in a prime area with a high value,” said a noted office space developer.
“Secondly, the cost of construction would not be high compared to the skyscrapers because the tower will have less than 20 floors,” he said, adding that the government could have easily got 40 per cent share of the built-up space. The estimated project cost of `6,000 per sq. ft, that too for a warm shell, was also on a higher side, he added.
When Deccan Chronicle tried to seek the response of Bijay Agarwal, managing director of Salarpuria Sattva, he chose to not reply.
