Land for Bibinagar AIIMs to cost a bomb

​Hyderabad: The Telangana government has acquired nearly 160 acres of land in Bibinagar for next to nothing 15 years ago when land rates in districts bordering the state capital have not yet peaked. However, it now needs to spend a substantial amount to acquire nearly 50 acres of additional land, as asked by the Union Health Ministry while approving Bibinagar site for establishment of AIIMS in Telangana.

The present NIMS Bibinagar was constructed in Bhoodan lands that cannot be sold or bought. After the Congress government in the combined state set out to acquire a large area of land for establishing the extended medical centre of NIMS at Bibinagar, some locals and a noted realtor went to court seeking compensation amount for the land, which government claims as Bhoodan land.

The dispute regarding ownership of the land is still in court, but not to delay the hospital project set to benefit lakhs of people, directions were given to Telangana government to deposit a bank guarantee of Rs 2 crore in court. The case is still pending. Assuming the government got the present 160 acres of land for Rs 2 crore, it now needs to pay nearly ten times of that amount for acquiring an additional 49 acres, which is less than one-thirds area of the originally acquired land.

From the acquired 160 acres, nearly nine acres was lost for road widening which means NIMS Bibinagar is left with 151 acres at present. Dr Boora Narsaiah Goud, Bhongir TRS MP, who pursued this project with the Centre after CM K Chandrashekar Rao finalised the location for setting up AIIMS, said that the government promised to hand over 200 acres for the national institute and accordingly request had come from New Delhi.

“The Centre is going to invest Rs 870 crore for establishing AIIMS and Telangana government agreed to allot 200 acres with a foresight on future needs relating to infrastructure and new facilities. The land acquisition process will be taken up on priority basis by the government and will be completed in less than two to three months’ time. AIIMS delegation will be visiting the state to assess modifications to be made in the existing building and for preparing DPR," he said.

According to revenue authorities, a vacant patta land in Kondamadugu village on North direction is ideal for land acquisition. Land in other three directions bordering NIMS Bibinagar (a populated village on east, main road on south and disputed Bhoodan lands on west) is not preferable as acquisition process might get delayed. The land rates on city outskirts and districts bordering the state capital have seen a considerable jump in the last decade and Bibinagar surroundings are no exception.

The government rate per acre of land is less than Rs 10 lakh, according to revenue officials and TRS leaders, but the market rate is four to five times of that value. To ensure a hassle-free land acquisition, it is the prerogative of the government whether to pay three to four times of the government rate so that property owners readily give their papers.

MP Narsaiah Goud exuded confidence that land acquisition would not be a problem as government rate is just Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per acre. Some property owners might have set sights on using this to their advantage and demand higher amount, but the government can handle the situation without any problem, he said.