400 acres of land belong to state, not UoH, says Telangana govt

The Telangana government on Monday said the 400 acres of land over which the student groups of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) are holding protests belong to it and that the students are being misled by some political leaders and realty groups.

The land issue, however, got complicated as the UoH Registrar contradicted the government's claim that the boundary of the land in question was finalised.

The 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli where the government plans to undertake development, including setting up IT park, borders UoH land.

Meanwhile, the UoH Students Union, in a social media post, said it is consulting various stakeholders regarding its next course of action.

The union held a protest on Sunday after noticing deployment of police and earthmovers at the land and police detained over 50 students who were released late in the day.

Police said two persons were arrested in connection with Sunday's protest after a case was registered against them for allegedly provoking the mob, rioting, obstructing and attacking officials from performing their duties, among others.

Police further said the arrested were not students. However, the university students' union in a statement said a student and an alumnus of the varsity were arrested.

The student groups and environmental activists are opposing the government's proposal to undertake development at the land, including auction, citing environmental conservation concerns.

The students claim that the land includes the Mushroom Rock area near UoH's East Campus.

The opposition BJP and BRS on Monday hit out at the Congress government over the "green murder" and the police action against the students.

In a detailed note on the land issue, the TGIIC (Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation) said it has proved its ownership of the land in court and that the UoH (a Central university) does not own any land in the land parcel in question.

Disputes, if any, created on the ownership of land, will be a contempt of the court, it said.

"Development works and auction of the land will not affect the ecosystem, including rocks. No lake exists in the land allotted for development," it said.

The state government led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is giving top priority to the sustainable development of any local area and conservation of the environment in every plan, it said.

"Some political leaders and realty groups are opposing the project and misleading the students for their vested interests," it said.

Tracing history of the land, the statement said the then undivided Andhra Pradesh government had allotted the land to a private company in 2004 but cancelled it in 2006 as the company did not commence the project.

The company had approached the courts and a legal battle continued for long.

In May, 2024, the Supreme Court had dismissed the petition filed by the company and the government took possession of the 400 acres of land and later transferred the land to the TGIIC.

The revenue records clearly state that the land is not forest land, it said.

With the consent of the University of Hyderabad Registrar, a survey of the land was conducted in July, 2024 in the presence of the university officials for identification of boundaries. "The officials finalised the boundaries on the same day," it said.

Referring to some media reports, it said Buffalo Lake and Peacock Lake are not in the limits of 400 acres which are being developed by the TGIIC.

The TGIIC statement said it prepared a plan to preserve the famous Mushroom rock and other rock formations as green spaces in its layout.

"Taking into consideration all the facts, it is clear that TGIIC has not encroached upon the lands of the University of Hyderabad and not damaged any of the existing water resources (lakes) and rock formations," it said.

The proposed project is envisaged in line with the government's priorities of the development of world-class IT infrastructure, increased connectivity and availability of adequate urban spaces, the statement added.

However, the UoH on Monday clarified that no survey was conducted in July 2024 by the revenue authorities in the campus to demarcate the 400 acres of land resumed by the state government in 2006.

The only action taken thus far has been a preliminary inspection of the land’s topography, UoH Registrar Devesh Nigam said in a statement.

The university also denied the government statement that it has agreed for such demarcation of the land.

The university will forward the representations of the stakeholders to the state government to reconsider the points raised and request it to conserve the environment and biodiversity in the area, he said.

Attacking the Congress government, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged the state's plan to develop the land is a "green murder".

Charging that the previous BRS government axed 25 lakh trees for Kaleshwaram project, he said, "Congress joins the green destruction at Kancha Gachibowli".

BRS leader K T Rama Rao held a meeting with the students on Monday evening and said his party would raise the issue in parliament.

"You can hear the peacocks crying for help as the bulldozers and JCBs of the Congress Govt rummage If you don’t speak up now, it’s on you Mr @RahulGandhi," Rama Rao said on 'X'.