TS Land auction: Oppn criticism smacks of double standards

BJP, Congress in their bid to find fault with the State government's decision, conveniently ignored decisions taken by their respective governments to sell government properties

Hyderabad: The Opposition parties appear to be playing with a double-edged sword when it comes to sale of government properties. In their attempt to find fault with the State government’s decision to auction vacant lands to raise funds for the exchequer, the BJP and the Congress appear to have conveniently ignored the decisions taken by their respective governments to sell government properties.

While the BJP-led government at the Centre is hell bent on selling Public Sector Units (PSUs) including a few profit-making entities even during the Covid-19 crisis, the party’s State leaders have been questioning Telangana government’s decision to auction the vacant lands. Interestingly, the BJP State leaders including its State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who justified the Centre’s disinvestment policy including sale of PSUs and Public Sector Banks (PSBs), chose to oppose a similar decision taken by the Telangana government to raise funds to implement various development and welfare activities in the State.

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The BJP State leaders have been finding fault with the Telangana government’s decision to sell the government land parcels rather than accommodating several land-less poor and providing them shelter. Many appear to have ignored the fact that the BJP government at the Centre was not only selling the public properties, but has also launched a scheme to encourage the States to follow the suit.

As part of its Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure for 2021-22, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman offered to provide incentives to States for monetising/recycling of infrastructure assets and disinvestment of the State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs). She earmarked Rs 12,400 crore in the 2021-22 Budget to provide incentives to the States for disinvestment of the SPSEs. About Rs 2,400 crore were separately allocated for the North-East and Hill States for the same purpose. Further, the Centre allotted Rs 5,000 crore to provide interest-free loan of 50 years tenure against the amount realised by them, through assets monetisation, listing and disinvestment.

Similarly, the TPCC leaders who did not oppose a similar move by the then Y S Rajashekhar Reddy government in undivided Andhra Pradesh, too are raising objections to the decision taken by the Telangana government. It may be recalled that the then YSR government took a policy decision to sell the government lands and raise funds for implementing various government programmes. Despite a furore among people of Telangana region in the undivided State for selling lands in Hyderabad and taking up irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh, the YSR government went ahead with its decision to implement its Jalayagnam.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Telangana has emerged as one of the best performing States in the country in terms of economy and revenues. It has also won several awards from the Union government for implementing many novel welfare and development programmes. Telangana also earned appreciation from its fellow States for extending a helping hand to migrant workers, teachers and other non-teaching staff of private schools, as well as other needy sections of society who are struggling to meet the ends, during the pandemic.

Amid these conditions, the State Cabinet took a policy decision to raise an estimated revenue of Rs 10,000 crore through sale of government lands which are not required for any public purpose and are in prime areas. To ensure transparency in the bidding process and realise competitive rates, the government decided to conduct e-auction of these lands and has appointed the Central PSU MSTC Limited as the nodal agency in this regard. However, the Opposition parties are criticising the decision.

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