HYDERABAD: “Telangana government's land regularisation policy A boon for the poor ,” claims Chief Minister K. Chandra-sekhar Rao in the advertisements issued by the Telangana government on Friday.

But in reality, the scheme has been attracting “others” holding big plots and lands in the city instead of the poor. The scheme, for which the process of submitting applications started on Wednesday, has been receiving lukewarm response from poor families. However, it's witnessing heavy rush from owners of big plots in expensive areas of the city.

While the scheme is mainly intended at regularising lands free of cost for poor families owning up to 125 sq. yards, it is being utilised more by people owning big plots ranging from 300 sq. yards to 1,000 sq. yards.

The reason: They just need to pay a percentage of the present market value for regularisation, which means that a plot, which cost nearly Rs 5 crore as per the existing market rate, can be regularised by paying Rs 1 crore.

The tahsildars’ offices at Shaikpet, Khaira-tabad, Balanagar, Asif-nagar mandals etc. had people arriving in high-end cars to meet officials, seeking information on regularisation of their expensive lands, submitting applications and offering any amount of money to get their work done.

A person, who claimed to be the owner of 500 sq. yards of illegal land at Jubilee Hills belonging to the government, on which he has built a house, visited the Shaikpet tahsildar’s office on Friday, seeking regularisation.

He was told that his plot was worth Rs 9 crore as per present market rates and it could be regularised by paying `1.5 crore. When the stakes are as high as this, brokers can’t be far behind.

The brokers who are camping at the tahsildars’ offices ever since the government an-nounced the scheme, claiming to be the ‘agents’ of revenue officials, are trying to mint money in the shortest possible period.

The government recei-ved 290 applications till Friday, most of which are about regularisation in expensive areas. The MRO offices at Shaikpet, Khairatabad, which covers upmarket areas like Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills received 70 and 40 applications respectively.