K Kesava Rao for curb on lands to firms

Hyderabad: The Centre should reconsider Private Public Partnership (PPP) and save public funds and precious lands from being given to industrialists at throwaway prices besides giving them unbridled control, feels TRS secretary general Dr K. Kesava Rao.

Citing the case of GMR, which was awarded the contract for the construction of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad near Hyderabad, he alleged that the company was allotted 5,000 acres by the government and it had spent Rs 4,000 crore. However, it is now worth Rs 40,000 crore.

“It’s just a classic example of crony capitalism in the country. A part of the land allotted to the Hyderabad airport has been given for commercial use for establishment of hotels, convention centres etc. A cup of tea used to cost a whopping Rs 100 at the airport. It has now slightly reduced. It’s just an example,” he remarked.

Dr Kesava Rao, who also raised the issue in Rajya Sabha, during the debate on a private member’s bill to review all PPP agreements in the country, told this newspaper that he would also bring the issue to the notice of finance minister Arun Jaitley soon.

“Public lands and public money are being used by some industrialists only for profit. Government provides huge tracts of lands at dirt cheap rate while they get loans from banks. They invest very little from their own pockets, yet become powerful entities in the country,” he alleged.

Referring to the collection of toll taxes across the country, including in Andhra Pradesh, Dr Rao said that there should also be a thorough review on the collection of toll taxes.
“The BOT scheme too needs a review. Should one pay toll tax for life long? The contractors may spend Rs 100 crore but may collect a lot more. There is a need to have thorough review of both PPPs and toll gates,” he added.