Scrap allocation of Azamabad land to pvt party: Harish to CM | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao on Sunday demanded that chief minister A Revanth Reddy immediately cancel the proposed allocation of 15,984 sq yards of Oilfed land at Azamabad to a private party and grant freehold rights over it to Telangana Oilfed.In an open letter to Revanth Reddy, Harish Rao said the land at Azamabad near RTC Crossroads was worth around Rs 500 crore in the open market and questioned the move to hand it over to a private party for Rs 87 crore.He said Oilfed was ready to pay Rs 87 crore for the property but govt chose a private party instead. Harish Rao questioned the reason for denying the state-owned undertaking an opportunity to retain the land.According to Harish Rao, the property measures three acres and 23 guntas or 15,984 sq yards and has been with Oilfed for nearly three decades. He said the property originally measured 17,261 sq yards and was leased to a private company in 1954 for running an oil mill.After the company stopped operations, govt cancelled the lease in 1974, Harish Rao said. The private company approached court over the property and the Supreme Court in 1987 upheld govt rights, leaving the company with only 1,277 sq yards, he said.The remaining 15,984 sq yards was allotted to Oilfed through GO 93 in 1991, Harish Rao said.He said an attempt was made in 2003 to revive the cancelled govt order (GO) and govt issued a show-cause notice in 2015. High Court had in 2022 directed govt to take a final decision on the matter, he said.Harish Rao questioned why Oilfed should be left with only 1,800 sq yards while the remaining 15,984 sq yards was proposed to be given to a private party.He also charged that valuable govt properties were being transferred to private parties even as ordinary residents faced restrictions under the 22A list.Harish Rao urged Revanth Reddy to withdraw the proposed allocation, protect the entire property as a public asset and grant freehold rights to Oilfed.He warned that BRS would launch an agitation if govt did not withdraw the decision and ensure that the land remained with Oilfed.