- Environmentalists shocked over CM KCR’s announcement
- The Supreme Court gave several judgments on the water flow obstruction
- Farmers were not made partners in development
- Water supply through gravity, zero emission
- Supply cost is only five paisa
- This is a rare feat in the world
- Farmers of 84 villages happy with the announcement
- If GO is revoked, Plot rates are likely to rise in the area
- But prices could reduce in other parts of city
(King Johnson Koyyada)
Gandipet is synonymous with Hyderabad and the popular tag “Veediki Gandipet neellu paddayi”, meant that a person who came to settle down in the city, had finally became a true Hyderabadi. Such is the association of Gandipet with Hyderabad and its residents.
In 1908, the floods ravaged Hyderabad killing about 15,000 people. Upon request from the Nizam rulers, renowned engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya constructed the twin reservoirs of Osman Sagar and Himayath Sagar. Since then, these twin reservoirs emerged the sole drinking water source for Hyderabad until Krishna River supply was established a few years ago. Thus, both the reservoirs went on to become Hyderabad’s pride. However, the recent announcement made by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao that the government would revoke the GO 111, has become a talk of the town across the country as it came less than two weeks after the government pledged to protect the water bodies at a national conference for conservation of rivers held in Hyderabad on February 26.
And now, everyone is wondering whether Hyderabad really does not need drinking water supply from Gandipet anymore or the announcement to lift GO 111 came only for the benefit of the real estate mafia. They are more concerned if this would lead to a fall in land prices in other parts of the city.
Recently some eminent persons held a discussion programme on cancellation of GO 111. Participating in this programme, Dr. Subbarao reminded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently promised to sign the Paris Agreement for reducing emissions by 35 per cent and create an eco-friendly condition in the country. Osman Sagar and Himayath Sagar provide fresh drinking water to nearly four lakh families without any emissions. Subba Rao explained that both the reservoirs were part of this zero emission and climate-friendly urban water system which should be taken up with the Prime Minister for taking special measures for their conservation. He explained that there were no reservoirs anywhere in the world that supply fresh drinking water at a cost of just five paise. Can we buy bottled water for Rs 100 just because the land prices have gone up, he questioned.
2000 square kilometers
Experts say that the GO 111 was brought in to prevent the pollution in the catchment areas of Himayath Sagar and Osman Sagar. The government has banned operation of about 68 polluting industries and factories apart from construction of multistoried buildings in the surrounding areas covering about 1.32 lakh acres in 84 villages under Shamshabad, Moinabad, Shabad, Shankarpalli, Rajendra Nagar and Chevella mandals. In fact, the total catchment area is about 2,000 sq.km. Currently, everyone is concerned about just 10 sq.km which is the only remnant of the expansive area under GO 111. But, the rest of the 1,990 sq.km also needs to be discussed. It is alleged that along with rock mining, crushing units did not stop and 32 mineral water units were newly established in these areas after the GO 111 came into force.
Lack of awareness!
Following establishment of an industry in 1995, the GO 111 was released on March 8, 1996, with the intention of preventing industrial development near the twin reservoirs in the future, to prevent their pollution. The GO prohibits establishment of polluting industries and residential projects within 10 km of the catchment area. However, it was clarified that certain development projects will be allowed. Accordingly, construction of houses was allowed within the residential zones. But not many people are aware of the same. Further, about 60 per cent of the total area should be left as open space, while sale of new plots was restricted. Roads too were permitted within the village layouts. About 90 per cent of the available land was allocated for recreation and conservation zone.
- It would be great if resorts were developed in the conservation zone under GO 111. HMDA has no record of what types of development works would be allowed in this zone.
- Hyderabad faced water shortage once every five years. Is there enough buffer water available in case of such water crisis, is a vital concern for many.
- Even before GO 111, the then government released GO 50 for protection of these reservoirs. But it is not available in public domain.
- Earlier, an expert committee was appointed on GO 111, but it did not submit its full report on its findings.
- The real problem is that the people living in 84 villages are not being made partners in development.
Twin reservoirs are Hyderabad’s brand
There is a huge different between natural water sources and artificially created water bodies. Moreover, the Supreme Court delivered multiple judgments giving priority to the conservation of water resources. Environmentalists say the focus should be on augmenting the declining water reserves worldwide. They have been urging the government to deepen the lakes which are functioning in a natural manner and take appropriate measures to prevent any obstruction to their flow.
Demand and Supply
Hundreds of acres of land is already available within the Inner Ring Road and thousands of acres of land is up for grabs along the Outer Ring Road. Further, the Regional Ring Road is also coming up, promising ample land for development. Under these circumstances, if the government decides to revoke GO 111, more than 1.32 lakh acres will be freshly made available for development. Would not this impact the real estate sector if land becomes available on such a massive scale? The principle of demand and supply, is crucial in the real estate sector.
The government is able to earn crores of rupees from auctioning lands in Kokapet, Financial District, Gachibowli and surrounding areas, due to scarce availability of land. However, the land prices are very low in 84 village under GO 111 within a short distance from these high profile areas. With Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao announcing plans to scrap GO 111, the land prices in these villages will definitely rise sharply. But once land in this area is available, prices in the prime areas in Western Hyderabad will witness a drastic fall.
How many acres need per year?
According to experts, about 25,000 flats are sold annually in Hyderabad. Considering that each flat is spread over 1,500 sq.ft and even if the builder constructs one lakh sq.ft per acre, about 375 acres of land is required every year. As majority of the constructions are taken up in Western Hyderabad region, experts estimate that West Hyderabad will have a larger share of the maximum, up to 250 acres. As the number of multi-storey buildings and skyscraper projects has increased in recent years, approximately 187.5 acres of land would be required even if two lakh square feet is developed per each acre land.
* Further, there are numerous office spaces being developed in the city. If around 10 million sq.ft of space is being built every year. Developers will build a maximum of 2.5 lakh sq.ft per acre in the office complexes which translates into requirement of around 50 acres per annum. Other commercial complexes and shopping malls require as much as 25 acres per year.
Lands sufficient for atleast 60 years
In total, a whopping 450 acres are required every year to build residential apartments, IT/office complexes and commercial buildings in Hyderabad’s realty sector. It could be rounded up to a rough requirement of 500 acres per year. Assuming that GO 111 is revoked partially and about 65,000 of total 1.32 lakh acres is made available for development, all the construction activity including residential, IT and commercial projects will be allowed within 50 per cent of 65,000 acres i.e. 32,500 acres. Thus, it can be easily concluded that by repealing GO 111, the government will have adequate land required for next 60 years. As a result, the 84 villages under GO 111 will transform into a new city on themselves over next 60 years period.
* Once GO 111 is repealed, land prices in the respective areas will skyrocket beyond any doubt. At the same time, other areas will witness a steep fall in land prices especially in Western Hyderabad. While it would reduce demand for flats being built in Western Hyderabad and thus might force the builders to reduce prices, it would definitely have an adverse impact on the multi-storey and skyscraper projects taken up with UDS and prelaunch sales.
Such development should be welcomed!
Setting aside the argument whether the GO 111 will be revoked or not, all measures should be taken to ensure a planned development in the area without giving scope for development of another concrete jungle.
- Areas like Cantonment area and those under control of Central government organisations like BHEL and DRDL are established on hundreds of acres of land. These areas have construction in less area and a large portion is left for greenery. The TRS government is already working to promote greenery.
- There is ample greenery in the GO 111 area. When the Gandipet and Himayath Sagar overflow, the groundwater level rises within the radius of 4.5 km. Thus, there is huge greenery in the area. Once the GO 111 is revoked within the purview of the twin reservoirs, it would be crucial to know what kind of structures will be allowed there.
- Permission should be given to build houses on an area of a quarter acre, half or an acre land only. Of that, only 15 to 20 percent of construction area should be allowed up to three storeys.
- The rest of the space should be left for growing trees mandatorily.
- Roads should not be paved like concrete jungle. Instead, only dirt roads should be allowed with trees planted on either sides of the road.
* Each house must have a small Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) for its exclusive use, failing which the new houses coming up in the region could pollute the nearby water bodies. - If such a plan is executed in a fool proof manner, one could have a splendid aerial view of this area after 10 years. Nowhere in the country, one can find such a spectacular and massive land at one location for a planned development. It can be developed into the most stunning green city spread between ORR and RRR, with massive water bodies and green cover.
- Water should be lifted from Himayath Sagar and Osman Sagar to fill numerous ponds and tanks twice a year. This will increase the groundwater level in the locality and facilitate growth of large trees which in turn will increase the greenery by ten-fold.
– K Ravinder Reddy, Chairman, Janapriya Engineers
Prices will fall
If the GO 111 is annulled, about 1.32 lakh acres of land will be available for development. As a result, the prices of plots in those localities will skyrocket, while the land prices in other parts of Hyderabad city will fall significantly. There is an urgent need to put a cap on unlimited FSI (Floor Space Index). So, the government must focus on this issue as a priority.
– Prabhakar Rao, President, Telangana Builders Federation (TBF)
Inequalities must be eliminated
The cancellation of the GO 111 is within the purview of the Supreme Court. So, let’s not talk about it now. Although 84 villages were brought under the jurisdiction of GO 111, many engineering colleges, medical colleges, hospitals and even layouts have come up in the area over the years. This indicates that the successive governments have so far failed to prevent illegal construction activities in the area. The government should adopt a whole new approach to develop the area and simultaneously protect the flora and fauna in the areas. I hope the government will take an appropriate decision in this regard. Further, the GO 111 has done unwanted injustice to the farmers in the area for past a few years. If the acreage in the adjoining Kokapet is Rs 40 crore, the areas under GO 111 do not exceed Rs 4 crore. It seems that the State government intends to repeal GO 111 to eliminate these inequalities which in turn result in price rise and eventually reduce land prices in Kokapet and surrounding areas.
– Gummi Ramreddy, Vice President, CREDAI National
