Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday alleged that the Congress government has introduced a “Rs 5 lakh crore corruption scheme” through the Hyderabad Industrial Land Transfer Policy (HILTP), claiming that this is why the government is attempting to acquire 9,292 acres of land.

KTR said that in the past, lands acquired by the government from people were allotted to industrialists at nominal prices for employment generation and educational purposes. These lands were given at low rates regardless of the prevailing market value.

However, he alleged that the current government is trying to acquire 9,292 acres across 20 industrial areas in Hyderabad only to hand them over to private individuals. The BRS leader further charged that the Congress government is permitting private players to construct apartments on lands that were originally reserved for industries and public employment. He recalled that under the BRS-era Grid Policy, the government was allowed to utilise 50% of such land for IT offices and the remaining 50% for other needs after paying the prescribed fees.

KTR voiced these concerns while interacting with BRSV students at his residence in Nandinagar on Tuesday. He accused the Congress government of “completely exploiting” government lands for private gain.

According to him, the government is handing over erstwhile public lands to private individuals for only 30% of the registration value, resulting in what he described as a “Rs 5 lakh crore land scam.” He alleged that this policy serves the financial interests of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his family. KTR also claimed that the Chief Minister is attempting to get closer to industrialist Mukesh Ambani through this policy and has created a path for large-scale exploitation of public assets.

He urged student leaders to launch awareness programmes to alert the public about the alleged scam, stating that even as Hyderabad lacks adequate space for parks, housing, and cemeteries, the government is allegedly handing over valuable land to private entities at throwaway prices.