From Lagacherla to Madhu Park Ridge, land acquisition disputes haunt Congress government

Controversies over land acquisition have intensified in Telangana since the Congress government assumed power, with farmers, students and residents staging protests over projects ranging from pharma villages to IT parks and roads, citing environmental concerns, poor compensation and livelihood threats.

Hyderabad: Ever since the Congress government came to power in the State and began acquiring land for various projects, controversies have erupted over such exercises. Cutting across sections, farmers, students, residents and landowners have staged protests against the State government’s plans. From Lagacherla to the Madhu Park Ridge apartment issue, the Congress government’s land acquisition initiatives have been marred by controversies and faced stiff opposition.

It has been over two years since the government assumed office, yet it has failed to win the confidence of different sections in the matter of land acquisition. While some raised objections citing environmental impact, farmers complained about inadequate compensation, while others said their livelihoods were under threat.

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In October 2024, a storm erupted in the State after the government attempted to acquire farmers’ lands in Lagacherla, Polepally and Hakimpet for setting up pharma villages.

In March 2025, the Congress government again hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when biodiversity spread across 400 acres in Kancha Gachibowli was cleared for setting up an IT park.

Widespread protests were staged by students of the University of Hyderabad and several public organisations over what they termed the ruthless destruction of biodiversity. The Supreme Court later intervened, taking up the case suo motu and directing the State government to stall the entire exercise.

In September 2025, farmers from Nalgonda, Sangareddy and other places took to the streets against the acquisition of their lands for the southern part of the Regional Ring Road. They alleged that the government deliberately altered the alignment to protect lands belonging to Congress leaders and industries. Farmers were also up in arms against what they described as poor compensation for their fertile lands. The Telangana High Court issued interim orders in December 2025 directing that status quo be maintained on the acquisition of land for the development of greenfield radial roads to Bharat Future City, connecting the Outer Ring Road at Raviryala to Meerkhanpet.

Farmers in Makthal have opposed land acquisition for the Narayanpet–Kodangal Lift Irrigation project, while those in Ramannapet of the erstwhile Nalgonda district have raised objections to acquisition for a cement factory.

The latest controversy surrounding the acquisition of the seven-acre Madhu Park Ridge apartment land for the Gandhi Sarovar project has further intensified opposition to the State government’s plans. Opposition parties have also strongly criticised the government, alleging that it has failed to take people into confidence before proceeding with land acquisition.

“Development that builds on the tears of displaced cannot be progress but it was dispossession. The government must realize that ‘Public Purpose’ was not a blank check to ignore the law of the land,” observed BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan.

Strangely, the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 was drafted by the Congress government after a series of protests by Rahul Gandhi. When the BRS government was constructing the Kaleshwaram project, many cases were filed by Congress leaders and others at the behest of the Congress party demanding fair compensation. How the Revanth Reddy government can fail to implement the same Act, he asked, adding that this was not Gandhism but Revanth Reddy’s opportunism.

“This is not a Congress government but a Telugu Desam and Modi government. If it is a Congress government, it will not adopt the bulldozer culture to demolish houses, university lands and forcibly takeover lands,” Sravan said.