TS TAKES OVER `50CR LAND IN KUKATPALLY
The government took back 12.22 acres of land worth over `50 crore belonging to TS Housing Board near JNTU campus, Kukatpally, on which illegal layouts had come up. The land had been occupied by Sri Sai Nagar Housing Welfare Society, among others.
The Housing Board had allotted 100 acres in Kukatpally to JNTUHyderabad for setting up its campus in 1980 on lease for 30 years at a rent of `99,000 per year.
A recent survey conducted by the Housing Board of land leased out to JNTUH with data from the survey and land records departments revealed that only 88.32 acres was in the possession of the university, and 1.29 acres was used for the widening of National Highway 9.
Another 8.2 acres was found to be in the illegal possession of ‘Sri Sai Nagar Housing Welfare Society’, which had developed an unapproved layout.
Following orders by housing department special chief secretary Chitra Ramachandran, who has started a drive to take back land from encroachers, the Housing Board cancelled the lease given to JNTU for the extent of the land encroached for failure to protect it. It then filed a case before the Special Court under the Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, at Hyderabad, against 188 persons who had grabbed the land.
took possession of vacant plots on Thursday and erected permanent fencing and signboards. The approximate value of plots was estimated at over `50 crore.
Ms Ramchandran issued a notice informing the public that the entire extent of 12.22 acres in Kukatpally on which the unauthorised Sri Sai Nagar Housing Welfare Society layout had come up, was the absolute property of the Housing Board and requested people not to make any transactions.
The GHMC commissioner was also informed about the unauthorised layout. The HMDA’s ambitious plan to have billboards floating on the city lakes is more or less shelved. The official announcement remains to be made. The HMDA had sought permission eight months ago from the GHMC to install floating billboards in Hussainsagar and Saroornagar Lake. The civic body has not yet responded.
Asked about the status of the project, GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy said that the civic body would discuss parking and advertisement policies in two weeks and the floating billboards issue would be debated in the meeting. He said the GHMC does not have a policy for advertisements on water.
According to sources the decision in the meeting is a mere formality. The government, especially minister K.T. Rama Rao is said to be against having advertisements all over the place. “The difference is clearly visible. He made an appeal not to put up hoardings, posters or banners to wish him on his birthday. The government wants to minimise the number of advertisement boards so that the beauty of the city is not lost,” a senior officer said.
“When the effort is to cut down on outdoor advertising, how can billboards on water be encouraged? Giving permission is almost unlikely,” he said. Billboards had been installed in Hussainsagar for some time before they were removed. HMDA had intended to extend the project to other lakes.