Watch: University of Hyderabad students launch protests against Cong govt.’s decision to auction university land

Enraged at the State government move to auction 400 acres of forested land in Kancha Gachibowli, through the TGIIC, UoH students raised concerns on the impact of it on the rich flora and fauna on the campus

Hyderabad: The students of University of Hyderabad on Thursday gathered in large numbers to protest the Congress government’s decision to auction away a part of the university land.

Enraged at the State government move to auction 400 acres of forested land in Kancha Gachibowli, that includes the popular mushroom rock formation, through the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), the students raised concerns on the impact of it on the rich flora and fauna on the campus.

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The students union leading the protest demanded the government to immediately cancel the proposed auction as it would hurt the biodiversity and impact the sensitive ecological space.

According to UoH students, the TSIIC announced to auction 400-acre of land in Kancha Gachibowli, which has an estimated value of Rs.10,000 crore. While the government claims the auction as a step toward revenue generation and infrastructure development, the ecological importance of the land, which has a long history tied to the UoH, was overlooked, it said.

After an extended legal battle between the IMG Academies Bharata and the State government that had allotted 400 acres of varsity land to the former, which failed to fulfil development obligation, the High Court recently ruled in favour of the government, permitting auction, it said.

This verdict disregards the land’s original purpose and the environmental cost that would follow its commercialization, the Students union said.