The dispute over land acquired for Hyderabad Pharma City has intensified, with BRS working president KT Rama Rao accusing the Congress government of breaking its promise to return land to affected farmers. His comments came as farmers continued protests demanding the restoration of the acquired parcels.
Rama Rao said the Congress had promised during the election campaign that land acquired for the pharma city would be returned if the party came to power. According to Telangana Today, he alleged that the government had not fulfilled that commitment and was instead identifying the same land as part of a proposed “Future City”.
“Now while the farmers are demanding that the Congress fulfil its promise, the same lands are being sold at Rs 4 crore an acre by calling it Future City,” Rama Rao said. The report did not provide details of specific sale transactions, the acreage involved, the identity of any purchasers or the government notification under which the land is being described or marketed as Future City.
The controversy places two competing claims over urban land at the centre of the dispute. Farmers are seeking the return of land acquired for a major industrial development, while the allegation by the opposition is that the land is being retained or repositioned for another urban development purpose. The issue therefore extends beyond the original pharma-city project to questions about how acquired land can be used when the purpose for which it was obtained changes.
Hyderabad Pharma City was planned as a large-scale industrial development intended to consolidate pharmaceutical manufacturing and related activity. The material supplied in the report does not establish the current legal status of the acquisition, whether the project has been formally cancelled or modified, or whether any land-return process has been approved by the government.
Rama Rao also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he had handed Telangana over to a real-estate dealer. His remark was directed at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and formed part of his wider attack on the Congress government’s handling of the land dispute.
The immediate public-interest question is whether the government will issue a formal response to the farmers’ demand and clarify the status and intended use of the acquired land. The report did not include a response from the Congress government, the Chief Minister’s office or officials overseeing Hyderabad Pharma City and the proposed Future City. Further clarity is expected through the government’s position on the protests, the acquisition records and any formal land-use decision.
