The Telangana government informed the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday that the Centre has given an ‘in principle’ nod, for the transfer of Bison Polo Ground and Gymkhana Ground to the state.
“It is a government to government deal and came with certain conditions,” Telangana advocate general D Prakash Reddy told the court.
He also said that a few formalities had to be completed, before the land was officially handed over.
The court was hearing a petition by ex-DGP MV Bhaskara Rao, former cricketer Vivek Jaisimha, war veteran and squadron leader Anil Bhalla and chartered accountant Turlapati Bharadwaj.
Saying that the state government wanted to decongest the Secunderabad cantonment area, ToI quoted the AG as saying, "The state highway and national highway 44 passes through Cantonment. Leave alone the open grounds and lung spaces, the Army authorities are blocking even roads and making the lives of the people more congested and miserable. Hence we have decided to take up some works under our Strategic Road Development Project (SRDP) to de-congest the area."
The AG also said that the state was planning to start construction work from October 10.
Meanwhile, the counsel for the petitioner stated that "you cannot destroy which you cannot create," and appealed to the HC, to stop the construction of the Secretariat before it started.
The bench adjourned the matter, after asking the Centre and Telangana government to file counter affidavits.
Earlier this week, hundreds of citizens in Hyderabad and Secunderabad took to the streets, to protest against the Telangana government's move of constructing a new Secretariat at the premises of the Bison Polo Ground.
Carrying posters and banners against the move, protestors gathered at the Parade Ground gate on the Tivoli theatre road and marched to Bison Polo Ground.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has been considering the land in Gymkhana Ground and Bison Polo Grounds, for constructing a 'vastu-compliant' Secretariat, Legislature and a cultural centre on the premises.
However, protesters claim that the move would kill a crucial lung space in Secunderabad.
An online petition on the issue has also been started on Change.org, which has over 3,000 supporters at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, the protests seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Earlier in the month, a blueprint of the proposed new Secretariat building was also released.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao himself has remained adamant on constructing the new Secretariat, telling critics that they could "go to hell".