Land acquisition for various infrastructure projects will soon get easier for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) with property owners warming up to enhanced Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) in place of monetary compensation.
Officials are upbeat about the good response and hope that more owners come forward for TDRs, and reduce the fund outflow from the corporation.
“We have been getting several enquiries about the TDRs after they were enhanced to 400% of the plot surrendered. For someone losing a bit of the plot for road widening, the opportunity to construct additional floors in the remaining area is more appealing than receiving compensation at registration value,” Chief City Planner S. Devender Reddy said.
GHMC is on its way to cost-intensive projects such as Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP), flyovers, junction improvement works and road widening at various locations. It has been paying only monetary compensation so far as the TDRs were limited to a mere 250% earlier.
According to revised rules, the rights have been raised to construct additional built-up area equivalent to 400% of the plot surrendered.
Land acquisition scenario has already improved for the corporation after the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 came into force.
“We are engaging property owners in private negotiations for a mutually agreeable price, and are using the Act only when negotiations don’t work. Response to TDRs is encouraging and we hope to use the provisions effectively in future,” Mr. Devender Reddy said.
Land acquisition is in progress for various road widening projects in the city, including SRDP works.
Property acquisition may be finalised for the 60-feet road between Habibnagar and Rakshapuram by month end and the works are in full swing. Thirty-three out of a 49 property owners have consented to it.
A new link road between Westin Hotel and Madhapur main road may also be completed in a month, as the acquisition has been completed and tenders awarded, officials informed.
Land is also being acquired for road widening where new flyovers are being proposed, at Amberpet, Uppal, and Balanagar junction.
Priority is accorded to the SRDP projects now, and Land Acquisition Act may have to be applied for acquiring a few properties near Bairamlguda at L.B. Nagar, Lalapet and Biodiversity Junction, officials said. It is already in progress at Bahadurpura.
Subsequent rounds of property acquisition is due for SRDP Phase-II in places such as Dargah, Kothaguda, and Hitech City, and officials hope to pay the property owners through TDRs.
