Former industry minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao has written to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy urging him to return the land pooled from farmers for the proposed Pharma City in Yacharam mandal of Ranga Reddy district if the government intends to scrap the project.

Soon after coming to power, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced the scrapping of the project conceived during the previous government and instead proposed setting up ten pharma villages across the state. The Chief Minister also announced the setting up of a green pharma city at Mucherla.

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A recent High Court directive to the revenue secretary to inform it whether the government wants to go ahead with the Pharma City at Yacharam Mandal prompted the letter from KT Rama Rao. In his letter, Rao pointed out, “The court’s intervention has made it clear that the land acquired for Pharma City cannot be repurposed for other ventures. In light of this, I wish to know your government’s definitive decision on the Pharma City project… If you choose not to proceed with the Pharma City in its original form, we request that the land pooled for this purpose be returned to the farmers in line with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.”

Rao also advised the government to go ahead with the Pharma City plan as conceived during his tenure.

He wrote, “We cannot afford to lose the opportunity to make Telangana a global hub for life sciences and your government’s indecision or abrupt policy shifts will only harm the state’s progress and reputation.” Incidentally, Rao had raised the same issue on the floor of the Legislative Assembly and cautioned the government that any attempt to change the land use of the pooled land for Pharma City would lead to legal troubles. The farmers of Medipally village in Yacharam had petitioned the court against revenue authorities.