Congress government turns to land monetisation amid financial pressure

Hyderabad: With its finances under pressure, the Congress government is turning to land monetisation to mobilise additional revenue. As part of its plans, the government is planning to unlock the value of existing government land, including departmental properties, and then by pooling private land in Hyderabad’s fast-growing peripheral areas for future public infrastructure projects.

Over the last 34 months, the Congress government raised over Rs 30,000 crore through monetisation and mortgage of the government lands and properties.

The latest strategy envisages creating a land bank, developing roads and other infrastructure around government plots before auctioning them, and generating additional revenue from land pooled for development. These plans were discussed during the recent Cabinet sub-committee meeting on revenue mobilisation, with focus on converting government land and industrial properties into revenue-generating assets while expediting pending approvals.

Land pooling in the rapidly developing areas of Medchal-Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts figured prominently. The government plans to identify land requirements in advance for future projects and infrastructure, while exploring ways to generate revenue from the pooled land. The exercise is also expected to create a land bank to meet future development needs. This approach would allow the government to secure land for public infrastructure, while seeking to unlock part of its development value.

The government is also looking to monetise industrial properties by regularising industrial lands and speeding up approvals in old industrial estates, including Azamabad, Balanagar and Hafeezpet. Proposals relating to B-category and micro industrial units will be examined, to generate revenue for the State.

Another component is the development and auction of land under the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC).

Currently, HMDA controls around 5,000 acres of prime land in and around Hyderabad. More than one lakh acres are under TGIIC’s active asset management and monetisation pipeline, particularly concentrated around high-value corridors in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, and Medchal districts.

All the government departments also were asked to identify their non-performing assets, auction-ready layouts and prioritise plots with better connectivity and development potential. Roads and basic infrastructure will be developed around these plots before they are put up for auction, in the expectation that improved access will fetch higher prices.