City
Epaper

Telangana HC halts work on land near Hyderabad University

By IANS | Updated: April 2, 2025 17:21 IST

Hyderabad, April 2 The Telangana High Court on Wednesday ordered a halt to the ongoing work on 400 ...

Open in App

Hyderabad, April 2 The Telangana High Court on Wednesday ordered a halt to the ongoing work on 400 acres in Kancha Gachibowli near the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) till Thursday.

The court gave the interim order while hearing the Public Interest Litigations filed by HCU students and the Vata Foundation.

The court took up the PILs for hearing on Wednesday. While adjourning the hearing to Thursday, the court directed the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) to stop all work.

The counsels for petitioners sought a stay on the works, saying the TGICC was cutting the trees by using several bulldozers.

The petitioners submitted to the court that the government in June last year issued a Government Order, allotting 400 acres of government land to the TGIIC. They argued that even if this is government land, the authorities concerned have to follow the Supreme Court orders. The court was told that heavy vehicles were being used to uproot trees and to level the ground.

The counsels for the petitioners contended that as per the Supreme Court order, a committee of experts has to be constituted to remove trees from a forested land. If the land inhabited by wildlife is to be levelled, an expert committee has to visit that place and study it for a month.

The petitioners told the court that the land has three lakes, several rocks, and many species of animals and birds, and they need to be protected. The court was told that authorities were acting against the Supreme Court guidelines, and for the last few days, a tense situation has been prevailing there.

Appearing on behalf of the state government, Advocate General Sudershan Reddy informed the court that the land was allotted to the IMG Academy in 2004 and since the company did not utilise the land as per the agreement, the then government cancelled the allotment.

The Advocate General argued that it’s not forest land, noting that high-rise buildings were constructed on HCU lands adjacent to this land, and they also have four helipads. He stated that several areas in Hyderabad have snakes, peacocks, and trees, and if one goes by the argument of the petitioners, these areas also have to be declared forests.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the division bench of the High Court headed by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul directed that the ongoing works be stopped till Thursday.

Vata Foundation, an NGO working for environmental conservation, sought deemed forest status to the land and demanded that it be declared as a national park under Section 35 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

The petitioner’s counsel also submitted to the court that 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.

The university students launched a protest recently after the TGIIC began the work to clear the land of trees and rocks for its auction for the development of IT parks.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Open in App

Related Stories

NationalPakistani Drones Sighted in Jammu, Samba and Pathankot; Indian Military Intercepts

NationalRajasthan CM holds emergency Cabinet meeting amid Indo-Pak border tensions

BusinessEU teams will be in New Delhi for FTA negotiations next week: Envoy Herve Delphin

InternationalBangladesh: Yunus-led interim government 'seriously considering' banning Awami League

BusinessRelaxo Footwears Q4 net profit falls 8.4 pc, revenue down nearly 7 pc

National Realted Stories

NationalCM Mohan Majhi says security enhanced at key locations in Odisha

NationalEnough rice, wheat, sugar, oil and pulses stock, no need to panic: Pralhad Joshi

NationalJammu on High Alert: CM Omar Abdullah Urges Citizens to Stay Indoors as Union Territory Faces Blackout Amid Attacks

NationalWater from HNSS project to be released in July: Andhra Pradesh CM

NationalIndian carriers cancel flights to 24 airports till May 15 as tensions flare up