Hyderabad, April 17: Plans laid by the Organisation to Counter Terrorism Operations (Octopus) to set up a commando training wing on the lines of the National Security Guards (NSG) have been held up due to nonavailability of land in Rangareddy district.
The anti-terror fighting arm of the State police asked the Rangareddy district authorities to allocate 500 acres of Government land to build its crack commando campus.
After a few false starts, the latter have indicated their inability to find any land for the facility.
Sources in the Rangareddy district collectorate told Express that they did identify 500 acres of land for Octopus at Mangalpalli in Ibrahimpatnam mandal. But the land turned out to be assigned land, presently in the possession of some poor families. “This land was actually `bhoodan’ land, donated to the poor. Later it was converted into assigned land,’’ an official said.
Since the families would have to be relocated and therefore compensated, district officials informed Octopus that they have to shell out the compensation cost for the oustees. “We told them we would do the land acquisition but Octopus would have to pay Rs 5 lakh per acre as compensation,’’ a district official said.
However, Octopus wanted the land free. After this episode proved a non-starter, senior Octopus officials approached the district officials again to identify another piece of Government land to the extent of 500 acres. Land being scarce in Rangareddy, the district officials threw up their hands and they couldn’t find any.
During the real estate boom of four years ago, most of the Government land in Rangareddy district had been sold by those in possession of it.
And what remained with the Government was in legal dispute.
The State Government set up Octopus in the aftermath of terror blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar in Hyderabad. But various complications have held up its progress.
In contrast, the National Security Guards’ (NSG’s) plan to build a regional centre in AP has had a smoother course. The commando outfit has taken possession of 600 acres of land at Bagayath village in Ibrahimpatnam in the first week of April.
–Agencies