Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority on Friday took back possession of 24.23 acres of prime land at Moosapet, given on lease to DLF-SBPL, allegedly owned by controversial city-based builder G.S. Gupta and others. The land is worth Rs 300 crore. On March 1, the tourism department had taken back possession of a Rs 200-crore plot in Basheerbagh after terminating lease agreement with GSG Constructions, owned by Mr Gupta and others.
Officials from the estates wing of HMDA conducted panchnama of the land and resumed it. DLF-SBPL was supposed to construct a mega-agricultural hub as per the lease agreement. However it, has neither started work on the project till date nor paid rent on it for the last two years. The dues now amount to nearly Rs 8 crore. HMDA officials said they would book a criminal case against DLF-SBPL with Central Crime Station police. The lease rent per month works out to be a little over Rs 39 lakh.
“When we sent a notice to DLF-SBPL office in Delhi, we got a reply that they did not authorise anyone to sign this agreement on their behalf. The involvement of even officials from HMDA will be probed, along with (those of) DLF-SBPL,” a official said. HMDA had allotted the land to one Manoj Sharma of DLF-SBPL. Mr Sharma is a co-accused in the FIR registered with Central Crime Station police in the case against G.S. Gupta and others. The 24.23-acre land was allotted to DLF-SBPL on August 12, 2008, through a government order. But the authorities took nearly two years to hand it over, as also make changes regarding land-usage in the masterplan. As per the agreement, the agricultural hub was to have an agricultural input complex, distribution centre, poultry and dairy input centre, farmer training centre, output storage and marketing centres, among others.