Land survey faces lack of finances

Plans for a comprehensive land survey in the state expected to provide government with information to put an end to land disputes and encroachments have hit a roadblock. However, the survey will not cover Hyderabad, where hundreds of acres of government land is encroached.In fact, the survey will be financed by Central government which had offered Rs 260 crore, fixing Rs 16,000 per one square kilometer of land. However, the actual cost is estimated to be between Rs 35,000 to 40,000 per sq km.
The government has to conduct survey for 70,000 sq kms covering 7 districts, and require about Rs 400 to 500 crore."The MoRD rates were fixed in 2008 which need to be revised," a senior official of survey and land settlements department said.The survey and land settlements department of Telangana has prepared proposals for survey in seven districts covering about 70,000 sq kms and sent them to ministry of rural development (MoRD) under National Land Records Modernization Programme.
Under this programme, both the state and Centre would share the programme cost equally.With respect to the survey in Hyderabad, MoRD has turned down a request for funds as the city is an urban settlement. The state government will need to seek help from ministry of urban development for funding for land survey. The Telangana state government has decided to conduct land survey in the state as it was last done in Telangana districts in 1930s.