Over a 100 files that had details about the size and location of the land, name of lease holder and lease period including the lease amount are missing from the corporation office. The Town Planning wing of the corporation used to look after lease agreements. Later the subject was transferred to the Estates Wing.

Though the files went missing 10 years ago, no effort was made to identify the properties and get them back under the civic body’s control. However, now a serious effort is being made to trace and get back the lands that are actually owned by the GHMC. The GHMC commissioner, Dr Sameer Sharma, is taking the help of retired employees of the erstwhile MCH, now the GHMC, particularly the survey officers of the Town Planning department who knew about these lease agreements and the number of properties owned by the municipal corporation in the city.

Some of the retired officers are reported to have knowledge about the location of land in their respective areas of jurisdiction. In this connection, the services of a retired survey officers of the then MCH, have already been hired.

The officials are also taking out the old revenue records that have details about the number of open spaces and buildings in the city that are owned by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad.

When contacted, the GHMC additional commissioner, planning, Mr K. Dhanunjaya Reddy, confirmed that they were going all out to identify the land that were actually given on lease but the GHMC does not have any data about them right now. “These lands are small in size and are between 50 square yards or even 100 square yards but are worth crores of rupees. We will also review and revise the lease agreements of those properties the records of which are intact with GHMC,” he said.