A charge that every Hyderabad builder knows the number — ₹200 per square foot — sits at the centre of a sharp political volley fired by BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao on Thursday, November 5, 2026. In a pointed post on X, KTR called out what he sees as a widening gap between BJP's rhetoric on Telangana's real estate levy and its willingness to act.

KTR's post does not mince words. 'Ask any builder/developer in Hyderabad; They will confirm that RR tax of ₹200 per SFT is a reality,' he wrote, before turning his fire on the Centre: 'Bada Bhai Modi and HM Amit Shah come periodically to Hyderabad; accuse Revanth/Rahul of looting Crores of rupees via RR tax — But mark my words; there will be no action on RR. Bada Bhai will never act against his ABVP Chota Bhai. Only Big Talk. No Action.'

The ₹200-per-SFT charge at the heart of the row

The levy KTR references — described in Hyderabad real estate circles as the 'RR tax' — is pegged at ₹200 per square foot and, according to the BRS leader, is a known cost that developers in the city factor into their calculations. While its precise legal basis remains a matter of contestation, builders' awareness of it is what KTR uses to anchor his political point: the tax exists, everyone in the industry knows it, and BJP's periodic outrage about it has yet to translate into any federal intervention against the Telangana Congress government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have made multiple visits to Hyderabad since Congress chief minister Revanth Reddy came to power after the December 2023 state assembly elections. Each visit has included public attacks on the state administration and, by extension, on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, with allegations of financial irregularities in municipal and real estate taxation. KTR's argument is simple: if the offence is real and the evidence is so obvious, why has the Centre done nothing concrete?

BRS's triangular jab — at Congress and BJP together

What gives KTR's post its edge is that it simultaneously criticises two opponents. The BRS, which lost power to Congress in Telangana in 2023, is in opposition — but KTR is careful not to defend the Congress government. He concedes the RR tax 'is a reality.' His target is BJP's credibility as an anti-corruption enforcer, arguing that the party uses Hyderabad as a stage for political theatre without ever deploying its federal machinery to intervene.

The reference to 'ABVP Chota Bhai' — a phrase left unexplained in the post — implies a political brotherhood between senior BJP leadership and a Telangana ally, suggesting to KTR's audience that protecting that relationship matters more to Delhi than pursuing any real accountability. The BRS has used this framing before: that BJP's national leaders pick their targets based on political utility, not governance principle.

A pattern bigger than one tax

This is not an isolated exchange. Central BJP figures have routinely visited Congress- and regional-party-governed states — from Telangana to Himachal Pradesh — to highlight alleged financial irregularities, particularly in real estate and municipal levies. The visits generate headlines; formal Central intervention rarely follows. KTR is essentially naming that pattern and daring BJP to break it. For Hyderabad's real estate sector, already navigating rising costs and regulatory ambiguity, the political noise adds another layer of uncertainty without delivering the clarity developers say they need.

The question KTR leaves hanging is the sharpest one: when the evidence is, by BJP's own account, staring everyone in the face, what exactly is Delhi waiting for?