High tension in Hyderabad Central University as police detain students

Hyderabad: Over the last two days, certain parts of Hyderabad Central University (HCU) campus have turned into a hotbed due to frequent protests by students opposing the Telangana government's proposal to auction 400 acres of land abutting the HCU campus in Kancha Gachibowli. 

The government deployed excavators, heavy equipment, and JCBs over the weekend to clear and level the land. While students have been demanding that the government should preserve the land as a lung space and claiming it belongs to HCU, the government has asserted its ownership. Students have been insisting that the piece of land contains lakes and houses many animals, and that government action would disturb the biodiversity. 

For the past two days, police have been detaining the protesting students. On Monday, ABVP students protested against the decision to auction the lands. Amidst heavy police deployment at the university, authorities resorted to lathi-charge on students.

"Muzzling of opposition voices, suppressing students, chopping off trees, destroying green cover & biodiversity, and sacrificing Hyderabad's ecology for funds—that's the merciless Congress government in Telangana. The Congress government's brazen auctioning of 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli, Hyderabad, is recklessly obliterating the rich flora and fauna of the region. It is heart-wrenching to hear the cries of our national birds—the peacocks—as they bulldoze the region's biodiversity at midnight. The voices of students are being brutally silenced while institutes of eminence like HCU are being encroached upon. I strongly condemn the reckless action of the Congress government in Telangana," said Union Minister G Kishan Reddy.

The Telangana government on Monday stated that the 400 acres of land in question belonged to the government and that HCU did not possess any land in the project area. The Telangana government has legally proven its ownership of the land in court. The government acquired the land, which was allotted to a private company 21 years ago, through a legal battle. Development works and auction of the land will not affect the ecosystem, including rocks, and no lake exists in the land allotted for development, according to Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC).

"On July 19, 2024, with the consent of the University of Hyderabad Registrar, a survey was conducted in the presence of University officials, the University Registrar, University Engineer, University Executive Engineer, Revenue officials, Revenue Inspector, and Mandal Surveyor. The officials finalized the boundaries on the same day. Buffalo Lake and Peacock Lake are not within the limits of the 400 acres being developed by the TGIIC. False reports have been published in a section of the media on this particular issue. After examining the survey, the TGIIC prepared a plan to preserve the famous Mushroom rock and other rock formations as green spaces in its layout. Later, the Corporation decided to prepare a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for sustainable development in the area as part of the master plan," said TGIIC in a statement.

TGIIC also stated that, considering all the facts, it is clear that TGIIC has not encroached upon the lands of the University of Hyderabad and has not damaged any of the existing water resources (lakes) or rock formations. On February 28, 2025, the TGIIC issued an RFP to utilize the 400 acres of government land according to the master plan. The proposed project is envisaged in line with the government's priorities for the development of world-class IT infrastructure, increased connectivity, and availability of adequate urban spaces.