Telangana RTC land in Musheerabad for affordable housing sparks concerns

Telangana RTC land in Musheerabad for affordable housing sparks concerns left Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s (TGSRTC) land measuring 6 acres 15 guntas in Zamisthanpur, Musheerabad, is located beside the Corporation’s headoffice in Hyderabad. File THE HINDU SURESH KRISHNAMOORTHY HYDERABAD:ANDHRA PRADESH:06/05/2014:A view of the imposing 'Bus Bhavan', corporate office of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation in Hyderabad with the Albino of 1920s (foreground), the first bus to be inducted in 1932, to the fleet of the erstwhile Nizam State Rail & Road Transport Department..

PHOTO:SURESH KRISHNAMOORTHY Telangana government cleared the decks for allotting 6 acres 15 guntas in ward 154 of Zamistanpur village in Musheerabad to Telangana Housing Board, as per an order of the Revenue Department HYDERABAD The allotment of land in possession of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) for housing units in Musheerabad, Hyderabad, has caused consternation within the rank and file of the State road transport undertaking.

According to an order of the Revenue Department, the government cleared the decks for allotting 6 acres 15 guntas in ward 154 of Zamistanpur village in Musheerabad mandal to the Telangana Housing Board. Once cleared, the land is to be used to construct LIG/MIG housing flats under the Urban Housing scheme. The order noted that the Transport Department had given “in-principle” approval for the land parcel for the larger goal of construction of one lakh affordable housing units in the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) area and municipal corporation in the State.

The move comes soon after the Labour Department held TGSRTC Trade Union recognition elections after 10 years. Union leaders reiterated that they urged Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and reiterated that they were against the government taking over land parcels of the TGSRTC and labelling them “vacant land”. They stated that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had attempted to take over lands belonging to the transport behemoth, but had failed.

They urged that land parcels must be protected at all costs as procuring them in the future would not be possible.