Telangana RTC land in Musheerabad for affordable housing sparks concerns

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 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.