Harish Rao urges SEBI to probe Gachibowli land deal made in violation of norms
HYDERABAD
Senior leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and former minister T. Harish Rao has requested the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to order an investigation into serious irregularities and potential violations of SEBI regulations by the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) and the Government of Telangana.
In the letter addressed to the SEBI Chairman on Thursday, Mr. Harish Rao raised strong objections over the mortgaging of 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli in the city, and it has been flagged by a Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee as 'forest-like' and environmentally sensitive. The land has reportedly been used to raise a huge loan through Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs,) allegedly without disclosing its legal and environmental status to lenders/investors.
'This is not just a financial violation, but it is also misuse of natural resources for questionable financial engineering', Mr. Harish Rao said. Flagging the financial capacity of TGIIC, he noted that its annual turnover was reportedly less than ₹150 crore, while it was raising thousands of crores through NCDs, a move that raises red flags over the repayment ability and disclosure norms.
He further questioned the recent conversion of TGIIC from a private limited company to a public limited company, alleging that this structural change could have been carried out without full regulatory transparency or compliance with the Companies Act and SEBI guidelines.
Further, Mr. Harish Rao stated in the letter to SEBI that merchant bankers were paid over ₹169 crore plus GST to structure these transactions, despite the questionable status of the land used as collateral. He requested SEBI to investigate the entire chain of transactions and hold all parties accountable, and provided supporting documents.
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