After allocating the Special Collector's powers to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner, land acquisition is on the fast track to facilitate the completion of various projects as planned.

Special powers for land acquisition were assigned to the GHMC Commissioner thus removing the lengthy administrative process from January 2020. Since then, by granting the property owners a compensation over Rs 396 crore, the municipal corporation has acquired 487 properties.

A senior GHMC official stated that this is an accomplishment, considering previous procedures. Acquiring 487 properties and granting Rs 396 crore payment in one year is undoubtedly an admirable achievement for the civic body.

It has helped in getting the projects on the fast track as the land acquisition was a big obstacle for any project in the earlier years. More significantly, the Rs 396 crore payment excludes the question of Transfer of Development Rights. Previously it used to take at least five to six months to purchase properties and process a detailed document for acquisition. This workout has now been cut short to about 90 days.

GHMC officials said individuals no longer need to make rounds between the three Collectorates including Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal districts for the acquisition process. The GHMC Commissioner is now empowered to pass approvals to acquire lands without referring the same to the Collectors of districts that come under the GHMC limits.

The State Government also assigned to the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Department the powers of the special Outer Ring Road Collector (ORR) under the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), which in turn transferred the same to the GHMC Commissioner.

List of TDR Approvals in 2020 

Although the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) were put in place long ago, all sections, especially the builder's community, are now adopting it.

Of all 721 TDRs issued so far, around 250 have been given in 2020, according to GHMC officials. Since the TDR bank (online platform) model was implemented to facilitate the selling and purchase of TDRs, the State Government was able to save a lot of revenue in order to buy the property, and the acceptance of property owners has gradually increased.

To present, 721 TDRs for an area spread over 13,06,416 square yards have been issued and a total amount of Rs.1421 crore has been provided. Officials of the GHMC said that the majority of property owners, whose land had been acquired by the government for slip and link road development, decided to take TDR over cash reward.

In order to construct 37 slip roads, about 200 properties have been purchased. While the number of properties is smaller, compared with road widening, the land acquired to develop these roads are higher.

By: Shailaja K