Hyderabad: Following clashes between students of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) and the police over the entry of bulldozers to clean up a 400 acre stretch of forested land, large number of police personnel were deployed on Monday (March 31) both inside and outside the campus.
The clashes took place ahead of the Congress government’s reported move to auction it to private players from the Information Technology sector for setting up an IT park. The move has resulted in criticism from both the students and the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the state.
The land is part of the uptick urban growth area of Kancha Gachibowli in Hyderabad and is claimed by both the state government and the university.
Earlier, the police arrested 52 students on Sunday (March 30) for obstructing the operators of bulldozers from carrying on their work. They were later released on furnishing personal bonds.
Dozens of bulldozers were deployed in the night to flatten the ground. On March 29, the students burnt the effigy of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
A two-decade-old controversy
At the centre of the dispute is a two-decade-old controversy over ownership of the disputed 400 acres of land. The issue had seemingly reached its conclusion when the Telangana high court said in a judgment in 2022 that there was no deed of conveyance that confirmed transfer of land by the government to the university.
It was the university which had filed the case claiming legal ownership of the original land measuring 2,324 acres allotted to it in 1975, including the disputed 400 acres. The university argued that the maps of the government were incorrect.
The court held that in the absence of such a deed, the government retained ownership of the land. Moreover, some other portions of the land were also surrendered by the university to the government, bolstering the argument of the government. The 2022 judgement was also subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court last year.
However, the legal obstacles to the land did not end there, as Vata Foundation, an NGO working for environmental conservation filed a public interest litigation in the high court seeking “deemed forest” status to the land and demanding that it is declared as a “national park” under Section 35 of Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Bulldozers stand parked for action in the disputed land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad. Photo by arrangement.
It based its argument on the judgement of the Supreme Court in the Godavarman Thirumulpad versus Union of India case. Godavarman was known as Green Man for his commitment to environmental conservation. The high court has listed the case for April 7.
The petitioners said the HCU campus had all the features of biodiversity hotspots and was ecologically sensitive as recognised by the Supreme Court for conferment of deemed forest status in the Godavarman case.
Even though the disputed land was not identified as a forest land in revenue records, the Vata Foundation urged the government to stall preparation of a master plan for the site.
NGO moves court against Telangana government plans to set up an IT park
On the other hand, the government has invited tenders to prepare a master plan equivalent to “international standards” to push its idea of economic growth by setting up an IT park in the area with foreign investments.
The government reportedly aimed to create a layout and auction the plots to companies. Incidentally, the land falls in the adjoining financial district of Gachibowli.
The Vata Foundation expressed apprehension that the government may cut trees in an area of 150 acres out of the total 400 acres to implement the master plan. The court directed the government, represented by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), to file a counter affidavit on April 7.
On learning about auction plans of the government, the students of the university had launched a campaign on social media with the hashtag “oxygen not auction,” saying that the forested land was home to protected wildlife species under Schedule I of wildlife Act and had a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Apart from a mushrooming rock formation, the campaign highlighted that the land parcel had four lakes – the buffalo lake and peacock lakes, Bangali fishing pond and frog pond. Among the species identified were monitor lizard, Indian rock python, hispid hare, peafowl, four-horned antelope, hanuman langurs, paradise flycatchers, herons, ibises, eagle owls and porcupines.
There were also four helipads and the building of the School of Economics of the university within the boundaries. The government maps indicated that both helipads and the School of Economics fall within the concerned land.
On Monday (March 31), the chief minister’s office clarified that the 400 acres belonged to the government. The land was allotted to a private company in the erstwhile, undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004. The present Congress government in Telangana acquired ownership of the land legally by winning the case in the Supreme Court.
“Disputes, if any, created on the ownership of land will be contempt of court”, the chief minister’s office said in a release.
It went on to say that the then Andhra Pradesh government allotted 400 acres of land to IMG Academies Bharat Private Limited on January 13, 2004, for development of sports facilities. The allotment was cancelled by a government order on November 21, 2006, as the company did not commence the project. The land was then allotted to Andhra Pradesh Youth advancement, Tourism and Culture Department.
IMG then moved the high court where the case went on since 2006. The Congress government took the matter seriously and won the case in March last year. IMG challenged the order of the high court through a special leave petition in the Supreme Court but it was dismissed.
Telangana government, HCU contradict each other
The government then took possession of land and ordered a survey by the deputy collector and tehsildar of Serilingampally. On the deputy collector’s confirmation that the government was the rightful owner of the land, it was decided that the same should be used for development works by ensuring that there were no encroachments.
Thereafter, the government issued orders transferring the rights of 400 acres of its land to TGIIC which, in turn, handed over the same to the Information and Communications Department.
The TGIIC also wrote a letter to the registrar of the university seeking cooperation to identify common boundaries. A team also met the registrar to explain the project proposals.
“With the consent of the registrar, a joint survey by government and university officials was conducted. The boundaries were fixed on the same day. Buffalo lake and peacock lakes are not within the limits of 400 acres as claimed in the campaign by students,” said a government statement.
Aerial view of bulldozers at work in the disputed land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad. Photo by arrangement.
The TGIIC, however, prepared a plan to preserve the famous Mushroom rock and other rock formations as green spaces in the layout. It decided to prepare a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for sustainable development in the area in the master plan.
Last month, the TGIIP issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) to utilise the 400 acres of government land as much as possible as per the master plan.
The state government said that the proposed project is envisaged in line with the government’s priorities for development of world class IT infrastructure, increased connectivity and availability of adequate urban spaces.
However, contradicting the claim of the government, the university administration issued a release saying no survey was conducted in July last year by revenue authorities to demarcate the 400 acres of land retaken by the government from IMG Academies Bharata.
The only action taken thus far was preliminary inspection of the land ‘s topography. The university also denied the statement of TGIIC that it had agreed to the demarcation of land. In fact, no demarcation of land had been done nor the was university informed about it, said the statement.
The university had been requesting the government for alienation of its land.
“It will forward the representation of stakeholders to the government to reconsider the points raised and request it to conserve the environment and biodiversity in the area,” said the university’s statement.
The university also suggested that it was important to note that any transfer of land allocated to it can occur with the formal concurrence of the university’s executive council as per clause (ix) of statute 13 which comprises six nominees appointed by the President of India in the capacity of the visitor of the university.
Students, BRS, oppose ‘land grabbing’, CM Revanth Reddy says effort to stall development
The students union of the university said it will continue to resist the “land grabbing” by the government, both legally and politically.
Student union president Umesh Ambedkar told The Wire that all the students bodies on the campus had decided to intensify the struggle to protect their land. Akash Kumar, vice-president of the student union, said the government resorted to flattening the ground by deploying 40 to 50 earth movers on Sunday night even though the case of Vata Foundation is still pending in court.
He said that two students, Erram Navveen Kumar and Rohit Bondugur, were detained by police on grounds of committing specific offences.
Meanwhile, the issue took a political colour with the main Opposition party, the BRS, extending support to the students in their fight against the government.
In posts on X, the BRS slammed the Congress over the issue and accused Congress leader the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of remaining silent as the party’s govt “brutalised students and wrecked the environment.”
“The Congress’s Mohabbat ki Dukaan has now reached Hyderabad Central University,” said the BRS, attacking the ruling Congress.
“Rahul Gandhi goes around holding a copy of the Constitution and preaching, but his government is doing exactly the opposite. Mohabbat ki Dukaan nahin, ye Congress dhoke ka bazaar hai”. (This is not a shop of love but a market place of betrayal by Congress),” said the party, which was in power in Telangana before the Congress.
Before protests erupted on the campus, Chief Minister Reddy had dismissed claims of critics that there were protected wild animals in the area. He told the Assembly that there were no tigers or deer in the land but “some cunning foxes were trying to obstruct development.”
