Kokapet land may be re-auctioned

The money raised from auction will be used for the development of infrastructure which is in dire need of attention because of the impact of Metro Rail works, heavy rains and waterlogging.

The state government is making an attempt to utilise the Supreme Court’s recent judgement to sell the valuable Kokapet land to raise an estimated `15,000 crore for the improvement of infrastructure in the city.

The government has sought legal opinion on the possibility of declaring the Kokapet land auction conducted by the Congress government in 2007 as invalid and putting the land up for auction again, to raise money. This money will be used for the development of infrastructure which is in dire need of attention because of the impact of Metro Rail works, heavy rains and waterlogging, and the frequent digging up of roads by various utility agencies over the past three years.

The Congress government had allotted 623 acres of land in Kokapet to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to raise money for the development of the city. The HMDA auctioned 166 acres of the land for `1,760 crore in 2007 and allotted 50 acres to an information technology special economic zone.

Firms that purchased the lands only paid the government `660 crore. When the government sought the balance amount, some individuals approached the court claiming ownership of the land in question. The firms then refused to pay the balance amount claiming that the government had tried to sell them land parcels that were under dispute.

The SC recently ruled that the lands do belong to the government.