The University of Hyderabad’s administration has refuted the Telangana government’s claim that it had carried out a land survey on campus together with University officials to demarcate 400 acres of land for a proposed auction. The University’s Registrar also stated that the institution has been seeking land rights from the state government.
Amid ongoing resistance from students and environmentalists against clearing land adjoining the campus, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s office had issued a statement on Monday, March 31, asserting the government’s ownership over the land. Protesters have alleged that clearing the land for industrial and commercial purposes would cause serious ecological damage as the area is biodiverse and houses many species of plants, birds, and vulnerable animals.
The Chief Minister’s office had claimed that boundary identification of the 400-acre land proposed to be auctioned was carried out by revenue officials in coordination with University of Hyderabad officials in July 2024. The statement claimed that the survey was conducted in the presence of the University Registrar and revenue officials, and boundaries were determined, which do not include the Buffalo Lake and Peacock Lake. The statement also added that the government plans to preserve rock formations as green spaces in the final developed layout.
Soon after the CMO’s statement was issued, UoH Registrar Devesh Nigam said in a press statement that “no survey was conducted in July 2024 by the revenue authorities in the University campus to demarcate the 400 acres of land resumed by the state government in 2006 from Ms IMG Academies Bharata Pvt Ltd.”
“The only action taken thus far has been a preliminary inspection of the land’s topography,” the Registrar said.
The University also denied the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC)’s claim that the University had agreed to the demarcation of campus land, saying the University was not informed of any such move.
“The University of Hyderabad…has been requesting the state government for alienation of its land,” the Registrar said, asking the Revanth Reddy government to conserve the biodiversity in the disputed area.
The 400 acres of land falls under Kancha Gachibowli village of Serilingampally mandal in Ranga Reddy district. In 2004, the then Chandrababu Naidu government allotted the land to a private firm called IMG Academies to develop sports facilities. The subsequent Congress government led by YS Rajasekhara Reddy cancelled the allotment in 2006 and sought to reclaim the land. A prolonged legal battle ensued, concluding in May 2024 in the Supreme Court with the land returning to the Telangana government’s possession.
Protesting students have been demanding that the state government halt the land auction plan, set up a committee to study the area’s biodiversity, and grant legal rights to the University over the land adjoining its campus.
The state government however maintains that its project will not damage any lakes or rock formations.