Hyderabad: Nearly two decades after earmarking 117 acres in Kokapet for a flagship information technology special economic zone (IT SEZ), the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has moved to scrap the project and unlock the prime land for auction, a move that could potentially fetch the agency around Rs 2,000 crore.HMDA has sought de-notification of the IT SEZ from the Centre, paving the way for the state govt to repurpose the land for resource mobilisation. Officials said around 90 to 95 acres of the original allotment are currently available and could be auctioned once the required clearances are obtained.The proposed SEZ, conceived by the erstwhile Hyderabad Urban Development Authority in 2007 as an extension of the Hi-Tec City-Gachibowli IT corridor, ran into prolonged legal disputes and failed to take off. Several firms that were allotted land either paid only a portion of the required amount or later opted out of the project.With land prices in neighbouring Neopolis soaring in recent auctions, HMDA expects substantial returns if the land is put on the block. In the latest auctions, land fetched as much as Rs 151 crore per acre, with the average price hovering around Rs 142 crore per acre.“Land was allotted initially to 11 firms on a 20-year lease at Rs 25 lakh per acre lease rent per annum and another Rs 25 lakh per acre was to be collected to provide basic infrastructure like roads, water, electricity and other facilities at the SEZ,“ a senior HMDA official said.The companies allotted land included Google (20 acres), Patni Computer Systems (24 acres), Cognizant Technology Solutions (9.05 acres), Tech Mahindra (8.43 acres), Qualcomm (7.34 acres), Sonata Software (7.04 acres), C-Bay Systems (6.42 acres), Infinite Computer Solutions (4.85 acres), Conexant (4.36 acres), Intelli Group Asia (4 acres) and DQ Entertainment (2.87 acres).Officials said that except one company, allottees paid only part of the dues. As litigation over the land title moved through the high court and Supreme Court, five firms eventually withdrew from the project. The legal hurdles were resolved in HMDA’s favour around 2012-13, but the SEZ never became operational.“The central govt had notified this land as SEZ over a decade ago. For utilising the land for other purposes, the Centre has to denotify it,” HMDA officials said.The state govt is expected to formally write to the Centre seeking de-notification, after which HMDA plans to initiate the process of monetising the valuable Kokapet land parcel.
