SCB elevated corridors: Property owners seek higher compensation rates

Property owners in Secunderabad Cantonment are protesting the compensation offered for land acquisition under two elevated corridor projects. While HMDA says 70% of the work is done, owners demand double the rates, citing soaring market values

Hyderabad: Amid the land acquisition efforts for two elevated corridors in Secunderabad Cantonment initiated by Hyderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri revenue officials, the owners of affected properties express dissatisfaction over the proposed rates and seek double the current valuation.

The Telangana government has allocated Rs 1,500 crore as compensation for properties affected by the elevated corridor construction from Gymkhana Ground to ORR Junction near Shamirpet. Additionally, another Rs 700 crore is earmarked for property owners affected by the elevated corridor project stretching from Paradise Junction to Suchitra Junction via Dairy Farm on NH-44.

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The demarcation of affected properties on these two stretches was completed in 2017. Of the 1,300 private properties, around 1,000 will be affected on State Highway-1 (Rajiv Rahadari) to build the skyway between Gymkhana Ground and ORR Junction. On the NH-44, where HMDA proposed to build a skyway between Paradise Junction and Suchitra Junction (Dairy Farm), over 300 properties were identified on both sides for demolition.

Meanwhile, the property owners demanding higher prices has come as a challenge for HMDA officials in land acquisition. Owners of properties affected in Karkhana and Trimulgherry claim the land values driven by real estate boom have gone high and the compensation offered to them should be accordingly more.

“We are demanding the state government fix the land compensation based on the current price prevailing in the market,” said one of the property owners. A senior HMDA official said that as of now, 70 percent of the process in acquiring the land was completed, and the remaining 30 percent was in progress.

The land compensation is fixed based on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The state government calculated the land compensation based on the land prices in the present market, said the official.