Hyderabad Students' Protest Continues Against 400-Acre Land Clearance For IT Parks; CMO Defends 'Sustainable Development'

Despite escalating protests from the University of Hyderabad students, the Telangana government persisted in clearing land in Kancha Gachibowli village, located in Hyderabad's IT corridor, on Monday (31 March).

The operation, which began on Sunday afternoon, carried on throughout the night, with additional earthmovers being deployed on Monday morning, Indian Express reported.

The state government anticipates generating between Rs 10,000 to 15,000 crore from the planned auction of 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli, situated in the Rangareddy district.

The government, asserting its exclusive ownership of the land, has plans to construct top-tier infrastructure and IT parks, enhance urban connectivity, and create urban living spaces.

Notably, a petition is pending before the High Court seeking preservation of the entire 400 acres as a national park and is set to be heard on 7 April. But despite this, around 50 earthmovers worked overnight to destroy the ecosystem, a student leader said.

On Sunday, the Cyberabad police detained over 50 students who were preventing the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TIIC) from clearing trees and shrubs from the land.

The students referenced a joint study conducted by UoH and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India in 2008-09, which indicated that the area is a habitat for more than 455 species of plants and animals. This includes herbs, shrubs, creepers, butterflies, odonates, arachnids, herpetofauna, birds, and mammals.

However, as per the Chief Minister’s Office, TICC has “prepared a plan to preserve the famous Mushroom rock and other rock formations as green spaces in its layout” and will also "prepare a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for sustainable development in the area in the master plan.”

Nonetheless, the students argue that the land, which is part of a broader ecosystem hosting a variety of flora and fauna, many of which are endangered and protected species, has not been officially surveyed or separated from the university campus.