Mushrooming illegal layouts on Hyd outskirts

Hyderabad: The strong nexus of unscrupulous bureaucrats and politicians is ruining the fortunes of many unsuspecting people who buy such property but seldom have the wherewithal to know if a particular layout is legal, properly demarcated and backed by valid permits.

Enquiries suggest that this menace is rampant mainly because village officers are ruling the roost in gram panchayats on the outskirts of the city. The village officers often act in collusion with the devious politicians and shady real estate dealers.

In Ghatkesar area, the mushrooming illegal layouts have caused losses running into crores for the exchequer, while shocking the public. This state government is losing revenues in fees, while the powers that be seem to be wholly indifferent to the expansion of illegal layouts.

The term of the special officers in gram panchayats will end in about three months and there is a never-before-seen urgency to cash in on the loopholes in the system.

In Boduppal, Firjadiguda, Chengicherl and other gram panchayats, which abut the GHMC limits, hundreds of acres of agricultural land has been converted into layouts illegally in the last six months.

There is indiscriminate building of residential houses in the area. Real estate dealers operating in the area are flouting regulations and occupying tank beds, government lands, parks and even temple lands in a bid to quickly convert them into real estate projects.

It is understood that panchayat secretaries are not insisting on the fees payable under the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) and are allowing conversion of land use for residential purpose.

The local people are aghast at the gravity of the situation, but are keeping quiet due to the involvement of powerful politicians and real estate dealers.

The fund-starved panchayats are being deprived of fees under LRS and are not able to take up developmental activities, says Balraj Goud from Bodduppal.

In Chengicherla, the illegal conversion of land use is so enormous that recently the panchayat special officer had to be removed. There was public outcry when the driver of a vehicle fell into a well while leveling land in an illegal layout.

Save for issuing the people concerned notices, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) does nothing to crack down on the illegal activities across Ghatkesar mandal.

The situation is no different in Boduppal, Pocharam and other areas and those behind the open illegal activity are taking advantage of the oversight of senior officials, say Ravi and Narsimha, locals of Boduppal.