Hyderabad: The Telangana state government on Thursday allotted one acre of land in Gachibowli to mobile phone maker Micromax for just Rs 10 crore against the market price of over Rs 30 crore.
The company had requested the subsidised rate so that it could shift its R&D facility from Beijing, China, to Hyderabad. The state government hopes this will increase employment for the local population.
In April this year, Micromax opened its manufacturing facility in Fab City on the city's outskirts, which was inaugurated by IT minister K.T. Rama Rao. The company had then expressed its willingness to shift its R&D facility to Hyderabad if the state government provided cheap land. Mr Rama Rao had indicated the government's willingness to do so.
In June, the TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation moved a proposal urging the government to allot one acre in Gachi-bowli at a subsidised rate.
It was referred to the Cabinet sub-committee on mega projects, which met in September and was approved. The cabinet sub-committee stipulated that the price of the land should not be below Rs 10 crore per acre.
At TSIIC's meeting with the company in October, the company agreed to purchase one acre for Rs 10.05 crore and the government allotted the same on Thursday.
TSIIC auctioned lands in the same area in May and November 2015 for a much higher price. Multinati-onals and big corporate groups purchased land for prices ranging from Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore per acre at the open auction.
Drug maker Aurobindo Pharma Ltd was the highest bidder, picking up five acres for Rs 29.28 crore an acre. Separately, the Hyderabad-based firm bought another 3.65 acres in the same locality, shelling out Rs 24.88 crore an acre.
Swedish furniture giant Ikea bought 12 acres for Rs 19.21 per acre. These companies did not seek a subsidy and bought land at open auction fetching huge revenues for the state exchequer.
