Once called Cyberabad, the capital of present day Andhra Pradesh has been at the centre of the Telangana turmoil, geographically located right at the centre of the proposed new state of Telangana and metaphorically the cause of much of the heartache over bifurcation.
At 40 percent, it accounts for the biggest chunk of Andhra Pradesh's revenue and the sharing of those resources will remain a source of dispute in coming months.
If anybody was in doubt over the criticality of Hyderabad in the Telangana saga, Union Minister Chiranjeevi put it succinctly in Lok Sabha: "... the big thing is Hyderabad. Everything is there in the city." It's no secret that major stakeholders in the Telangana struggle, including several Parliamentarians, are also those with business interests and investments in Hyderabad.
At the same time, the city has also borne the brunt of the agitations all year long. The repeated strikes and bandhs over the past several months has dealt a crippling blow to the business-friendly image of the city. BPOs have functioned on strike days at well short of their full strength, leading to long queues for callers.
Some mega-projects were lost to Chennai or Bangalore too. The realty sector, sick for months now, is hoping to get some clarity and, subsequently, see some growth as matters begin to stabilise after the passing of the Telangana Bill. Developers and realtors "rejoiced" at what they hope is the end of uncertainty. EVen if Hyderabad loses some business to other cities that will be developed in the Seemandhra region, the joint capital "would see a drastic correction in realty rates".
"In the next two years, a revision in price is bound to happen. Right now we are selling at 60% of the rate that's prevalent in Chennai and this needs to be corrected soon," said C Sekhar Reddy, national president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI).
Another developer was quoted as saying there could be a small period of three to six months as people hold back investments waiting to see the fate of Hyderabad, but that given the city's potential as a realty hub, it is only a matter of time before the sector looks up.
A immediate upward trend would be in the range of 5 percent to 10 percent, the report said, followed by a post-election rise of 15 percent to 20 percent. A previous report in the Hindu Businessline, had pointed out that there had been a 30 percent rise in input cost for construction, not matched by a rise in property prices, putting severe pressure on builders.
"Nowhere do the divisions or emotions run higher than in a city that finds itself sandwiched between the two — Hyderabad," said a report in The Indian Express describing the situation succinctly. The report goes on to detail the investments of just two of the protesting MPs -- Lagadapati Rajagopal and Venugopal Reddy.
The Rs 15,000-crore Lanco Group belonging to Rajagopal runs power projects, real estate ventures, sponge iron companies and undertakes civil works contracts in Hyderabad, also home to Lanco Hills in Hyderabad, Rajagopal’s 'dream project', with over $1.5 billion in investments, with luxury apartments, villas, office spaces, hotels, malls and more.
Reddy is the director of the Ramky Group that has multi-crore investments in real estate projects in Hyderabad and adjoining Ranga Reddy district. Ramky builds luxury apartments and villas in Hyderabad’s IT corridor, with about Rs 1,000 crore invested in these projects.
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