Published Aug 30, 2026 | 8:24 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 30, 2026 | 8:24 PM
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Deputy Floor Leader T Harish Rao.
Synopsis: BRS leader T Harish Rao has opposed the reported transfer of 15,984 square yards of Telangana Oilfed land in Hyderabad’s Azamabad Industrial Area to a private party for ₹87 crore, despite an estimated market value of around ₹500 crore. Rao alleged that the present Congress government has shown a consistent pattern of prioritising the sale or transfer of government lands.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Deputy Floor Leader and former minister T Harish Rao has written a strongly worded open letter to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy opposing the reported decision to transfer 15,984 square yards of Telangana Oilfed land in the Azamabad Industrial Area to a private party. According to the letter, the land, estimated to be worth around ₹500 crore, is proposed to be transferred for only ₹87 crore.
Harish Rao, who represents the Siddipet Assembly constituency and serves as deputy floor leader of the BRS Legislature Party, described the move as an attempt to dispose of a valuable public asset at a steep discount. He demanded that the decision be withdrawn without delay and made it clear that the BRS would launch a determined struggle to protect Telangana’s public properties from what he called arbitrary transfers.
In the detailed letter, Harish Rao traced the history of the land. The original extent in the Azamabad Industrial Area stood at approximately 17,261 square yards. Over the decades, successive governments dealt with portions of the property through various orders linked to industrial and oil-mill purposes.
In 1991, the remaining 15,984 square yards of land was permanently allocated to Oilfed under Government Order No. 93. The land’s public character was further strengthened by GO No. 366, issued in 2003.
The BRS leader emphasised that the land has long been treated as a public-sector asset belonging to the state cooperative and is not available for private transfer at throwaway prices.
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Harish Rao alleged that the present Congress government has shown a consistent pattern of prioritising the sale or transfer of government lands while ordinary citizens face difficulties because their properties are placed on the Section 22A prohibited list under the Registration Act.
He argued that public assets are meant for the welfare of future generations and should not be parted with cheaply in favour of private interests. The letter pointed to the sharp contrast between the easy transfer of high-value government land and the hardships faced by private landowners whose properties are frozen under prohibitory orders.
The communication forms part of the BRS’s recent campaign against what it repeatedly calls the Congress government’s “land-centric” approach to governance. In recent weeks, Harish Rao has publicly claimed that government lands worth tens of thousands of crores have already been sold or offered for sale across the state. He has also criticised the handling of the 22A prohibited properties list, saying it is causing severe hardship to genuine landowners who purchased property with their hard-earned money.
By highlighting the specific case of the Oilfed land in Azamabad, the former minister sought to present a concrete and quantifiable example of high-value public property allegedly being undervalued and transferred.
He questioned how land that had been secured for a public cooperative through successive government orders spanning more than three decades could now be handed over to a private party for a fraction of its estimated market worth of ₹500 crore.
Harish Rao urged the Chief Minister to cancel the reported decision immediately and safeguard Telangana’s public resources. He reiterated that the BRS would not remain silent on the issue and would fight determinedly to protect the state’s assets for the benefit of the people.
The open letter, written on official letterhead and accompanied by scans of the two-page Telugu communication, was shared publicly on social media by political observers.
There has been no immediate official response from the state government to the specific allegations regarding the Azamabad Oilfed land. The issue is expected to figure in the political debate in the coming days as the opposition intensifies its focus on land-related decisions.
