KTR questions silence of Rahul Gandhi over Rs 5 lakh crore Telangana land scam
BRS working president KT Rama Rao has accused the Congress government in Telangana of enabling a massive land scam through the Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation Policy. He claims the policy allows industrial landholders to convert properties into commercial or residential zones at undervalued rates, risking a Rs. 5 lakh crore loss to the State.
Published Date - 30 November 2025, 07:12 PM
Hyderabad: Demanding accountability from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the new Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation Policy announced by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday flagged a potential Rs 5 lakh crore loss to the State, alleging that prime public industrial lands were being converted into private real estate bonanzas.
In an open letter to Rahul Gandhi, he urged the Congress leader to break his silence on what could emerge as one of the biggest land scams in Independent India.
He said the policy unveiled by Revanth Reddy would allow industrial landholders to convert their properties into commercial or residential zones by paying only 30 percent of the sub-registrar value, far below prevailing market rates. He argued that this mechanism would effectively hand over public wealth to private players at throwaway prices, creating massive windfall gains for a select few.
The BRS leader noted that nearly 9,300 acres of industrial land in clusters such as Balanagar, Jeedimetla, Sanathnagar, Uppal, Mallapur, Ramachandrapuram and Hayathnagar were originally allotted at concessional rates to promote manufacturing and employment.
Rama Rao also questioned the government’s decision to offer fast‑track approvals within 45 days for conversions involving assets worth thousands of crores. Such speed, he said, raised concerns about transparency, due diligence and the potential for political interference.
He criticised the policy’s stated objective of relocating polluting industries outside the Outer Ring Road, calling it misleading. Since relocation was voluntary and no alternative sites or environmental safeguards were mandated, he argued that the policy would not reduce pollution but instead trigger a surge of skyscrapers and commercial complexes in long‑standing industrial zones.
The BRS leader alleged that the policy was designed to benefit a handful of Congress leaders, influential real estate groups and individuals close to the Chief Minister.
He contrasted this with the previous BRS administration, which he said required industrial units to pay 100–200% of SRO value for land‑use conversion, ensuring fair compensation to the State. Revanth Reddy was dismantling these safeguards and turning Telangana into an ATM for the Congress party and its associates, enabling unchecked appropriation of public wealth, he said.
In his letter, Rama Rao also posed two pointed questions to Rahul Gandhi, whether he was unaware of the alleged large-scale misappropriation, and whether his continued silence signalled tacit approval, making him equally accountable.
He concluded by asserting that Telangana, a State built on self‑respect and justice, could not allow its future to be mortgaged to political‑commercial nexuses. The Congress party’s response, he said, would determine whether it stood with the people or with those looting public assets.