BJP MPs seek clarification on disputed 400-acre UoH land, urge action to protect varsity interests

Three BJP MPs from Telangana on Wednesday sought details of land allotment and other related issues concerning a 400-acre land parcel adjacent to the University of Hyderabad (UoH) from the university’s Vice-Chancellor.

Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, Eatala Rajender, and M Raghunandan Rao met Vice-Chancellor B J Rao at the residence of Vishweshwar Reddy, the Lok Sabha member from Chevella, under whose constituency the university falls.

Vishweshwar Reddy told reporters here that they intended to meet the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar on the university campus but refrained, fearing it might be perceived as a political move.

Reddy said he and the other MPs wanted to understand the facts of the case, including the allotment of over 2,000 acres to the university in the 1970s by the then Congress-led central government.

Raghunandan Rao said they would inform Union Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy about the matter and work to safeguard the land in the university’s interest, in line with the directions of the party leadership.

Asked if university officials like the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar can be summoned to a private residence, Raghunandan Rao said that MPs and MLAs can call officials from institutions within their jurisdiction.

He added that there was no need to “split hairs” over the issue.

Meanwhile, students said that the state government has erected a signboard on the 400-acre parcel claiming it belongs to the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC).

UoHSU president Umesh Ambedkar said the union is likely to take a stand regarding the government’s installation of the signboard.

The Telangana government's plan to develop the land in Kancha Gachibowli for IT infrastructure has triggered protests by the University of Hyderabad Students' Union.

The matter is currently being heard in the Telangana High Court and the Supreme Court.

The protesting students claim the 400 acres belong to the university, while the state government asserts that it owns the land.

On April 3, the Supreme Court asked the Telangana government to explain the “compelling urgency” behind the clearing of dense tree cover on the land parcel adjacent to UoH and stayed further activity until further orders.