Congress government banks on TDR for Musi project despite objections from builders, landowners

The Telangana government is continuing to rely on Transferable Development Rights as compensation for land acquisition for the Musi rejuvenation project. Builders and landowners have raised concerns over poor demand, cartelisation risks and financial burdens associated with TDR usage

Hyderabad: Despite objections raised by builders and landowners over Transferable Development Rights (TDR), the Congress government is continuing to rely on the issue of TDR as compensation for land and properties acquired for various purposes.

This came to light on Friday when the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) gave a presentation on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Musi rejuvenation project. MRDCL Managing Director EV Narasimha Reddy said the government had divided the master plan for the 55 km Musi rejuvenation project into five zones. Accordingly, Zone 1 covers 21 km from Outer Ring Road Hyderabad West to the proposed Gandhi Sarovar project. The tentative development cost for Phase I is estimated at around Rs.6,500 crore to Rs.7,000 crore. This includes river cleansing, riverbed profiling, flood mitigation walls, roads along the riverbanks, trunk sewer mains, water retention structures and riverfront development. However, the estimate does not include the cost of land acquisition and TDR, wherever applicable.

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Considering the financial situation of the State government, as admitted by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on several occasions, extending compensation in cash for acquiring land and properties remains a challenge. The other alternative available to the government is issuing TDRs as compensation for the land and properties acquired. However, builders and developers have expressed reservations over the mandatory utilisation of TDRs for construction of structures above 10 floors, citing additional financial burden and cost escalation of at least Rs.350 to Rs.400 per square foot.

Not just builders, many landowners are also reluctant to accept TDRs as compensation for various reasons. Apart from poor demand, the possibility of builders and others forming a cartel and reducing the TDR value is another concern. Encashing TDRs is also a challenge for land and property owners as they need to wait for a remunerative price, which could be a time-consuming process.

Meanwhile, MRDCL has already issued a notification for the issue of TDRs to affected individuals whose properties fall within the Maximum Flood Level (MFL) and buffer zones of the Musi River. The affected individuals have been asked to approach the corporation or Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to express their willingness to receive TDRs in lieu of surrendering their affected lands in the MFL or buffer zones.