HILT policy is not for land-use conversion but for protecting environment, public health: Sridhar Babu

Hyderabad: IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu said that the Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation (HILT) policy should not be seen as a routine land-use conversion exercise but as a moral and intergenerational responsibility.

Defended the HILT policy in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, he described it as a landmark, future-oriented intervention aimed at protecting the environment and public health.

However, the Opposition BJP questioned the policy’s intent, transparency and possible real estate implications.

‘Humans are trustees, not owners of the planet’

Sridhar Babu said that the policy is aimed at curbing unchecked industrialisation and urban expansion that severely damaged air, water and food safety. He warned that development without ecological balance would leave future generations with irreversible harm.

“Accumulating wealth means little if we pass on poisoned air and contaminated water,” the Minister remarked, stressing that humans are trustees, not owners of the planet.

Addressing decades of ‘urban planning failures’

Tracing Hyderabad’s industrial evolution since the 1970s, the Minister noted that areas such as Balanagar, Sanathnagar, Uppal, Jeedimetla and Cherlapally were once planned as exclusive industrial zones far from habitation.

Over time, rapid urban sprawl erased buffer zones, leaving residential colonies abutting factories and exposing citizens to toxic emissions.

Calling this a serious planning lapse and a potential scientific disaster, he said the HILT policy represents the government’s first decisive step to correct decades-old imbalances between development and environmental protection.

Industries to move beyond ORR

Sridhar Babu said the core objective of the policy is to gradually relocate polluting industries beyond the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to ensure cleaner air and safer drinking water within the city.

He added that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is committed to making areas inside the ORR pollution-free through planned and phased implementation.

‘Not a forced or hasty exercise’

Rejecting allegations that the policy was rushed or arbitrary, the Minister said HILT was preceded by extensive consultations and deliberations.

Sridhar Babu also clarified that land conversion would take place only with the voluntary participation of stakeholders and that the government would extend full support to mobilise resources for implementation.

He also dismissed claims that industrial lands were being misrepresented as government lands, citing earlier government orders that clarified the State’s authority over leased lands.

Science-based, long-term vision, says Minister

Emphasising the government’s intent, Sridhar Babu said every decision under the HILT framework would be backed by logic and scientific reasoning. The policy, he said, is designed to lay a healthy foundation for future generations rather than deliver short-term gains.

HILT policy is for converting industrial land into real estate, alleges BJP

Countering the government’s claims, BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy alleged that GO 27, linked to the HILT policy, is controversial and aimed at converting industrial land into real estate under the guise of urban transformation.

He claimed the order provides for townships and apartment complexes and alleged that land was being allotted at throwaway prices.

He also accused the government of failing to make public the decisions of the sub-committee formed on the HILT policy, alleging that 22 industrial estates were being alienated without adequate disclosure.

Allegations of farmers’ land and industrial closure

Maheshwar Reddy further alleged that land originally acquired from farmers for pharmaceutical purposes was being diverted for a proposed Fourth City, noting that the High Court has sought an affidavit from the government on the issue.

He claimed the policy could eventually lead to the closure of industries and urged the government to revoke questionable orders issued by previous regimes instead of introducing what he termed a flawed policy.

Government orders under scrutiny

Questioning transparency, the BJP leader alleged that while thousands of government orders have been issued, only a fraction have been placed in the public domain.

He accused both the present and previous administrations of lacking accountability in policy disclosures.