After tense week, Telangana government and State Bank of India (SBI) might be nearing resolution over Raidurgam land auction. SBI officials met with Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao after state warned of escalating the fight to Centre and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), risking their banking ties.
Sources say SBI leaning towards accepting 2.5-acre plot offered by Telangana Government Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) in Hyderabad Knowledge City . Another site in city also under discussion as part of settlement.
This mess started back in 2010, when five acres were given to State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) for just ₹13.3 crore,way below its ₹200 crore market value. After SBH merged into SBI in 2017, bank didn't start building, leading Telangana to suggest canceling allotment in May 2019. Despite SBI's pleas for more time,government officially revoked it on January 22,2021, citing failure to build within two years .
SBI challenged this in High Court,while government offered land in Osman Nagar and Gandipet. Allotment got canceled,and by June 2026,state auctioned land for stunning ₹204 crore per acre. SBI's legal challenge to auction puzzled many,since bank seemed to back auction earlier. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy accused SBI of playing politics, questioning timing of their protests.
With talks ongoing in New Delhi,SBI now seems ready to drop court case and take alternative land from government. Telangana now rethinking drastic steps like pulling deposits or changing salary accounts, which could have hurt ties more. If deal goes through, it could finally end this drawn-out battle and mend fences between state and India's biggest public sector bank…
