HMDA to auction Rajiv Swagruha flats, aims to amass Rs 2,000 crore

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has decided to take over the Rajiv Swagruha Corporation Limited from the Housing Board and sell the flats to generate revenue. As a pilot project, it will auction 28 blocks of the Rajiv Swagruha complex at Bandlaguda.

Based on the outcome, it would sell the remaining flats, numbering about 10,000. Builders can take up minor patchworks and resell the flats to buyers.

The Housing Board had constructed about 12,000 flats at the cost of Rs 1,747 crore in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh but the then state government did not hand over the flats to beneficiaries. This resulted in damage to several houses.

As many as 76,000 persons had applied for the houses but did not take the flats as the Swagruha flats turned out to be costlier than the market price. The erstwhile government borrowed Rs 1,250 crore to construct the flats but was not in a position to pay the interest. Citing this, the government mortgaged the flats at Bandlaguda.

Now, by auctioning the flats, MDA is plans to mop up Rs 2,000 crore, according to sources.

At a recent meeting, municipal administration and urban development special chief secretary Arvind Kumar stated the HMDA would take over the project from the Housing Corporation and conduct the auction.

"After successfully bidding for the blocks, builders can take up minor patch works and resell the flats to buyers. The modalities are being worked out," he said.