The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is planning to auction 49.92 acres of open plots in Kothapet in the city for developmental activities in the area, which borders the IT corridor. However, Hyderabad-based activist Lubna Sarwath has called the move illegal and has petitioned the Telangana High Court to cancel the auction process. According to the environmental activist, parts of the land being auctioned fall within the Full Tank Level (FTL) of the Osman Sagar lake, a crucial reservoir that serves the drinking water needs of Hyderabad. If encroached upon, it could lead to flooding in the region.
HMDA, Hyderabad’s urban planning agency, intends to auction 49.92 acres of land in two parcels by an e-auction process on July 15. There are seven plots of land covering 48.27 acres under the Neopolis layout in Kokapet and land spanning 1.65 acres under the Golden Mile layout. The HDMA is also set to auction five land parcels (15.01 acres) in Khanamet in Hyderabad. The HMDA expects to sell these parcels of land for a base price of Rs 25 crore per acre and the lands have a market value of Rs 40 crore per acre. The authority expects to make a revenue of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 1,600 crore from these auctions.
On Wednesday, July 14, Lubna Sarwath, an enviornmental activist and state general secretary of Socialist Party (India), wrote to Hima Kohli, the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, seeking to cancel the e-auction proceedings. The activist alleged that the maps of the Kokapet area and HMDA layouts being auctioned, when juxtaposed, show serious discrepancies. According to the activist, the maps show that the tract of land falling within 500 meters to 1 km of the Osman Sagar lakeshore, is also included in the e-auction.
The area is the catchment area of the Osman Sagar Lake and also includes parts of the Suruni lake. “It is clearly observed that the HMDA is planning the sale of 'open plots' in the eastern side of Suruni cheruvu (lake), in its catchment area. By this, the catchment of Osman Sagar will be severely compromised and the HDMA will violate the GO 111,” says Lubna in her petition.
Government Order (GO) 111 "prohibits industries, major hotels, residential colonies or other establishments that generate pollution in the catchment of Himayatsagar and Osmansagar, up to 10 km from the full tank level (FTL) of the lakes." The GO was brought into effect in 1996 to protect the catchment areas of the two lakes and the HMDA is tasked with lake protection.
The activist also compared the maps of the locality in the HMDA Master Plan 2031 and maps used by the HMDA for auction to find more discrepancies. The two maps, she alleged, suggested that parts of the land being sold were formerly categorised as a Bio-Conservation Zone, but have now been made into Special Development Zone (SDZ).
Bio-conservation zones are designated as protected zones where construction activity is not permitted. SDZs are economic zones where construction activities can be taken up. The state government order on Special Development Regulations, issued in 2008, permits residential, commercial, institutional, work centres, and any other non-polluting non-hazardous activities in these zones.
"HMDA, instead of conserving the SDZ area, is auctioning it as open plots. All the conservation zones have been allotted for multiple constructions such as an Islamic centre, Padmashali Bhavan, Kurma Bhavan, and other such welfare institutions," she added.
The activist called for the restoration of the Suruni lake and its inflow and outflow channels. The outflow channels from the Suruni lake flows into Osman Sagar and is a low-cost drinking water reservoir for Hyderabad, Lubna noted.
The activist also found that the one-acre land, housing the historic Balkapur channel — which links to the Hussain Sagar lake— is also included in the portion to be auctioned. She also pointed out that the Balkapur channel is not demarcated in the HMDA maps used for auctioning, thus creating an ambiguity of its exact location. The location of the channel, however, is clearly demarcated in the HMDA master plan 2031.
The Balkapur channel area is declared as a conservation zone, pointed out Lubna and is in need of restoration. “The Balkapur channel needs to be restored, especially in light of the intense rains that Hyderabad faced in 2020. The excess rain can be drained out through this channel and prevent loss of property and lives,” the activist said. HMDA officials were unresponsive.
On Wednesday the Telangana High Court after hearing a petition filed by a BJP leader refused to stay the auction scheduled for Thursday, July 15. The petition was filed by BJP leader Vijayashanthi, who sought the scrapping of the Government Order which facilitated the auctions. The state government told the bench that it had decided on the land auction for two reasons — to help the state's revenue, and due to the difficulty in protecting these lands from encroachers.