This Land Is My Land

Land usage in Hitech City is pretty interesting. As I've talked about earlier, you've got this area of very modern looking buildings. These were created because the government gave the land away very cheaply, allowing international corporations to develop. Here are a few snapshots to give you a feel for the area (the one below is Amazon's building).






In the area surrounding and at points in between these buildings, the land is surprisingly undeveloped. There are two main reasons for this. Both stem from the time of Nizam rule, the era after the Mughals gave autonomy to the city in 1724. For a little over two hundred years, Hyderabad enjoyed a lot of prosperity. During this time period, various individuals came into possession of plots of land around the city.

Fast forward to modern day. With the emergence of Hitech City, the land surrounding the offices of all of these corporations has skyrocketed. The owners of this land realize the value of their property, but aren't giving it up. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm guessing it's because they're being given unreasonably low offers. Regardless, you end up getting areas like the ones below, both looking out a window in Amazon's office.








In the image above, you can see some Hitech office buildings in the distance, including Motorola's. But, in the area in between, you see tons of sectioned off little areas. These are the little plots of land that have been passed down for hundreds of years that nobody wants to give up. The image below is a close up of one of these plots. This is a pretty small one compared to some of the others, but in each one you'll basically see this one room shelter that was constructed out of metal or brick and then a mostly unused yard.

Most of the people who live in these areas work for the Hitech companies. Either in the kitchen or as a taxi driver. Apparently, some of them will be personal chauffeurs for employees of the companies. For the equivalent of $10 a week, you can hire someone to pick you up in the morning, hang out outside your office all day, and take you home in the evening.

Oh, and don't miss the little Where's Waldo gem in the bottom picture. If you look closely in the rocks, you'll see a satellite dish. Many of these plots of land have them. Only the bare necessities...

In the picture above, you'll also see some areas that have no plots of land, but also aren't developed. They basically look like rock quarries (see the middle left of the photo). In 1948, a year after Indian independence, the Nazim signed over control of the city to Hyderabad. Around this time, disputes arose over the ownership of much of this land. I doubt people generally cared back then. But, with the value of this property so high now, people are making a bigger fuss. So, this isn't being used because they're trying to figure out who even has control of it.