POLITICAL REALTY

Hyderabad's real estate market is likely to be one of the major factors in the upcoming Telangana assembly elections

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

In a walled orchard, 3km off national highway 163, two men squat under a mango tree jutting out over the fence of a plot. A few leaves brush against their cheeks, but the conversation is too intense to be disturbed. "The cost of land per square yard is ₹9,500 now, cheapest in the 5km radius," says Nagaraju, the caretaker of the layout in Surangal village in Telangana's Rangareddy district. "Everyone is saying that if the BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) wins [the state elections due later in the year], the price will double. It is better to invest immediately."

His friend Seshu joins in. "I have seen the movements of some ticket aspirants," he adds. "If the party confirms their ticket, they will go for a quick sale. I would like to buy the land to start my own real-estate venture."

More than red jowar roti and kudumulu (steamed rice balls) with mutton curry, the staple here seems to be politics and real estate.

Surangal is roughly 30 minutes from the IT corridor of Hyderabad. A few years ago, land price here was not more than ₹2,000 a square yard. Today, one would be lucky to get it for four times the price. The owners, however, are holding on; they are waiting for a windfall before they sell. The reason: On May 19, the BRS government scrapped GO (Government Order) 111, which restricted construction in the 10km catchment area of two lakesOsman Sagar and Himayat Sagar-on the outskirts of Hyderabad, to prevent pollution of the water. This spans 84 villages covering 1.3 lakh acres. As a result, there was no commercial activity in the region. The only appreciation in land price was because of the proximity to Hyderabad, but the land was mostly used for farming. Now, with the order from 1996 scrapped, there is widespread joy in these villages. And the BRS knows this.