Telangana government says 400 acres belong to State, not University of Hyderabad

A statement read that in 2004, the then State government in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh had allotted the land to a private company. The Congress government acquired the ownership of the land by legally winning the case in the Supreme Court

Hyderabad: Amidst the ongoing row over the proposed auction of 400 acres by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), the State government continued to claim that the 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli belonged to the State and not the University of Hyderabad.

In a statement released by the Chief Minister’s Office, in which the version of the TGICC was added, the government claimed that development works and auction of the land would not affect the ecosystem, including the rocks. No lake existed in the land allotted for development, it said, also claiming that it had legally proved the ownership of the land in the court. The land, which was allotted to a private company 21 years ago, was acquired through a legal battle, it said.

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The statement read that in 2004, the then State government in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh had allotted the land to a private company. The Congress government acquired the ownership of the land by legally winning the case in the Supreme Court. Disputes, if any, created on the ownership of land would be contempt of the court, the statement said.

“A survey report disclosed that the University of Hyderabad did not own even a single inch of land. No lake was found in the development plan being undertaken by the government in the particular land parcel. The envisaged new development plan will not damage the existing rock formation in the land,” the statement said.

Claiming that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was giving top priority to sustainable development of the local area and conservation of the environment in every plan, the CMO statement alleged that some political leaders and realty groups were opposing the project and misleading the students for their vested interests.

Alleging that there were “misleading stories published in some media outlets” regarding ownership of the 400 acres of land in survey no. 25 in Kancha Gachibowli village, it quoted the TGIIC as saying that the land was allotted in 2004 to IMG Academies Bharat Private Limited for development of sports facilities. On November 21, 2006, the State government cancelled the allotment of land to IMG Academies Bharat Private Limited for not commencing the project. The same land was allotted to the AP Youth Advancement, Tourism and Cultural Department.

However, IMG Academies India Private Limited filed a Writ Petition in the High Court in 2006 regarding the allotment of the land. This legal battle continued for a long time and the High Court gave orders in favour of the government on March 7, 2024. But the IMG Academies India Private Limited challenged the High Court order in Supreme Court.

The State government fought against the petition. On May 3, 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by IMG Academies. Complying with the court orders, the government took the possession of 400 acres of land. Subsequently, on the request of TGIIC, the Deputy Collector and Tahsildar of Serilingampally Mandal confirmed that the 400 acres of land in survey number 25 at Kancha Gachibowli was owned by the government. The authorities suggested that the land should be acquired for development works without encroachment.

On June 19, 2024, the I&C Department suggested the State Government to measure and transfer the rights of 400 acres of government land in Kancha Gachibowli based on the new policy for land allotment as per GOMS No. 571, Revenue (Assign-1) department, issued on September 14, 2022. Further, on June 19, 2024, the TGIIC submitted proposals to allocate 400 acres to them for setting up IT and other projects and also requested permission to acquire the land. Accordingly, on June 24, 2024, the State Principal Secretary to Revenue Department issued orders transferring the rights of 400 acres of government land in Survey No. 25, Kancha Gachibowli village, Serilingampally mandal, Rangareddy district to TGIIC.

“Thus, the 400 acres of land are in the possession of the government. The revenue records clearly said the land was not forest land as reported in a section of the media but rather owned by the government,” the statement added.

As per the TGIIC version, the TGIIC Cyberabad Zonal Manager on July 04, 2024, wrote a letter to the Registrar of University of Hyderabad, requesting cooperation in identifying the common boundaries of the 400 acres of land allotted to the Corporation. The TGIIC officials along with a team met the Registrar of University of Hyderabad on July 7, 2024 and explained their project proposals to him.

On July 19, 2024, with the consent of the University of Hyderabad Registrar, the survey was conducted in the presence of the University officials, University Registrar, University Engineer, University Executive Engineer, Revenue officials, Revenue Inspector, and Mandal Surveyor. The officials finalised the boundaries the same day.

“The Buffalo Lake and Peacock Lake are not in the limits of 400 acres, which are being developed by the TGIIC. False reports are published in a section of media on this particular issue,” it claimed, adding that 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 in the master plan, it said.

The statement asserts that the TGIIC had not encroached upon the lands of the University of Hyderabad and had not damaged any of the existing water resources (lakes) and rock formations.