PNS|Hyderabad
With the Kokapet Neopolis Phase–2 auctions generating a huge amount, the government is thinking of mopping up more funds by selling land.
Sources close to the CM have set an ambitious target to raise almost Rs 20,000 crore by selling lands in a few months. Highly placed sources said that while officially no such target has been set, advisors seem to be ambitious in raising funds.
The Telangana government will next auction land parcels in Budvel and Mokila and a piece of land left out at Kokapet. Senior officials said that the Budvel and Mokila lands won’t fetch as much money as the Kokapet lands which fetched Rs 100.75 crore per acre.
The HMDA will conduct the e-auction of 14 plots totalling 100 acres in August. The pre-bidding meeting is scheduled to be conducted on August 6. The minimum upset price of the plots is set at Rs 20 crore per acre. So 100 acres will at the minimum fetch Rs 2,000 crore but as the distance to Kokapet is less, officials think that there will be more buyers. The last date for registration for the open plots is August 8.The plots are just 15 minutes away from both the Hyderabad Airport and the financial district. Official sources said that the plots are near the Kokapet Neopolis Layout and so there will be substantial interest in the area.
Speaking about the affordability of Kokapet Neopolis a senior official said, “The price might give the impression that Hyderabad is not affordable, but when you break it up to sq.ft, it would come to Rs 15,000–Rs 16,000 per sq.ft. There are places already in Hyderabad where people are paying a somewhat similar price.”
However, the officials are worried that this might be a double-edged sword as companies which might be interested in investing in Hyderabad might think twice about the cost.
The official said that while these are good sources of revenue, there is always a fear that Hyderabad might lose its affordability factor, even though the fact is that this is only some particular land parcels and not the price across the city.
Meanwhile, KTR said that the Telangana land drew such a high price due to the development the state has achieved.
“One acre was sold for Rs 100 crore in Telangana because of the development the state has achieved and not through protests. For development of this scale, we need a stable government and an able leadership. Telangana is fortunate to have a leader like KCR, who fought for the state and thinks about the progress of Telangana which has resulted in Telangana’s development,” KTR told the Assembly.
