SC panel visits 400 acres land near UoH; BJP, BRS, students union submit representations

hyderabad: amid a row over lands adjacent to the university of hyderabad, a supreme court-appointed panel on thursday visited kancha gachibowli here and took the views and representations from various stakeholders, including government officials. the telangana government's plan to develop the 400 acres of land in kancha gachibowli here to create it infrastructure has sparked protests by uoh students' union. the matter is now being heard in the telangana high court and the supreme court. petitioners in the hc allege that the flora and fauna of the area would be adversely impacted by the congress government's proposal to develop it infrastructure and others in the area. the supreme court on april 3 asked the telangana government to explain the "compelling urgency" for clearing a large tree cover on a land parcel next to uoh and stayed any future activity till further orders. the apex court had directed the central empowered committee (cec) to visit the place in question and submit its report prior to april 16, when the matter would be heard again. the agitating students claim that the 400 acres belong to the varsity, while the state government asserts that the land belongs to it. the university of hyderabad students union 2024-25 (uohsu) said it met the committee outside the university campus and presented the concerns and interests of the stakeholders. the uohsu would continue to stand for the cause of protection of the 400 acres of land and the preservation of its rich biodiversity, it said in a release. the union would continuously resist the "auctioning of land" which was allocated for public higher education, it said. uohsu president umesh ambedkar said the union submitted a report to the committee on the "ecological heritage of the uoh campus of which kancha gachibowli forest has always been an integral part". the union alleged that it was not allowed to meet the committee inside the campus or at the site visited by the panel. "the (university) administration and the telangana government led police are in absolute nexus with each other in not allowing the student community, led by the students' union, to bring up the reality of the crisis to the notice of the cec," it said. bjp mps eatala rajender, konda vishweshwar reddy and m raghunandan rao met the committee and submitted a report. a brs delegation, led by mla t harish rao, also met the committee and submitted a memorandum. the opposition party urged the committee to investigate and recommend action against the state government for its alleged violation of supreme court judgments and several legislations of the state and central governments. among others, the brs also requested the committee to propose a time-bound restoration plan (reforestation, wildlife rehabilitation).