HMDA officers give permit to Vyjayanthi Builders against plan

Hyderabad: Yet another building scam has come to light implicating officers of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) this time.

The officers gave permission to Vyjayanthi Developers to build on land that was earmarked for a road in the HMDA master plan.

Two thousand square kms in survey numbers 334 and 335 in Gachibowli, the hi-tech financial district, were turned over to the developers by HMDA planners including arrested planning director K. Purushotham Reddy and city planner B. Bheem Rao. The land was marked as a main road in the HMDA master plan.

The current price per square yard in Gachibowli is around Rs 30,000 per square yard. This means the developers encroached on land worth Rs 6 crore owned by the government. Over 7,000 sq km of Greater Hyderabad (minus the GHMC area) falls under the ambit of HMDA.

The body is the competent authority to allocate layout and building permissions.

According to the approved master draft, the 100-metre road in survey number 334, 335 (land behind Continental Hospital, Gachibowli) was meant to be a straight thoroughfare.

However, after Vyjayanthi began digging for a ground plus five commercial complex with a double cellar for parking, the road took a crescent shape. This change in the topography has hampered the surrounding constructions.

Those affected lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, following which HMDA planner B. Bheem Rao was arrested in a disproportionate assets case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Enquiries by this newspaper revealed that four city planners of HMDA worked hand in glove with Bheem Rao to allow the illegal construction.

“The construction permission issued to Vyjayanthi Developers stands cancelled. An internal enquiry is on to verify how approval was granted in violation of the law. Memos have been issued to Bheem Rao, Sadanand, Hari Ram and Rahul, the four planning officers,” a top official with HMDA said.