Centre clears 83.814 acres of defence land for Gandhi Sarovar project at Bapu Ghat

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s relentless efforts have paid off with the Ministry of Defence granting working permission to the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation (MRDC) to undertake development activities on 83.814 acres of defence land under the jurisdiction of the Artillery Centre at Golconda.

The total valuation of the defence land involved has been assessed at ₹533.42 crore. The approval has been granted under the Ministry’s Equal Value Infrastructure (EVI) policy framework, under which infrastructure assets of equivalent value will be created for the Army in return for the use of defence land.

The approved land parcels are spread across Bandlaguda, Hyderguda and Quila Mohammed Nagar villages in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. The land was sought for the execution of the proposed Gandhi Sarovar Project at Bapu Ghat under the MRDC.

The largest component of the project involves Pockets 2 and 3, covering over 30.4688 acres of land in Bandlaguda, valued at approximately ₹104.45 crore. Another major parcel, identified as Pocket 5, spans 39.725 acres across Bandlaguda and Hyderguda villages and carries an estimated valuation of over ₹260.52 crore. Additional pockets include 8.091 acres at Quila Mohammed Nagar and 5.529 acres in Bandlaguda.

The Ministry of Defence clarified that the working permission is subject to strict terms and conditions. Chief among them is the requirement that MRDC create Equal Value Infrastructure benefiting the Army instead of the defence land made available for the project.

Mr. Revanth Reddy expressed his gratitude to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for granting permission, stating that the approval from the Ministry of Defence marks a significant milestone in the State government’s vision to undertake the comprehensive rejuvenation of the Musi River.

The Chief Minister also thanked the Central government for extending its support to the State’s development plans. The approval paves the way for the Gandhi Sarovar Project that forms part of the broader Musi Riverfront Development programme.