Telangana: Mission on to sell land to mop up funds

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to take up land distribution programme for the poor on priority basis. This would help the ruling party in explaining to the people that the BRS government was pro-poor and had always kept up its promises.

Since implementing the land distribution scheme requires huge funds, it has decided to sell vacant government lands identified mainly in Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajigiri, Vikarabad and other urban dominated districts. This was decided at a meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday. The meeting felt that the selling away of land and regularisation of encroached lands in districts would help the government put the scheme on fast track.

Accordingly, the committee directed the officials to speed up the process of open auctioning of the lands. The officials were also asked to come up with new plans to mobilize resources to meet the financial requirements in the coming days.

The sub-committee also discussed the issues relating to providing house sites to all the eligible beneficiaries in the state. Issues relating to the implementation of GO 58, GO 59, Sadabinama, Notarised documents, Endowment/Waqf lands, etc, were also discussed.

KTR said the government was committed to provide houses or house sites to all the eligible poor in the state benefiting one crore families. In 2014, he said, over 1.25 lakh beneficiaries got pattas. Verification process in respect of 20,685 houses has been completed, he said.

He directed the officials to come up with "people first" policy wherein people below poverty line can take possession of land for residential purpose and action should be taken to issue house site pattas.

Referring to the notarised documents, which is more prevalent in urban areas, the Cabinet Sub-Committee mandated the officials to finalise the procedure and time-bound action plan.