HC to hear two PIL pleas questioning UoH’s Kancha Gachibowli land allotment to TGIIC

Heavy police deployment at Hyderabad Central University main gate amid protests over HCU land issue in Hyderabad on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR

The Telangana High Court will hear on Wednesday (April 2, 2025) two PIL petitions questioning allotment of 400 acres of land to the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited and seeking a direction to stay excavations and uprooting of trees in the said land at Kancha Gachibowli.

A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara will hear contentions of the petitioners and the governments of the State and the Union in the two pleas. The first PIL plea was filed by Vata Foundation ENPO, a non-profit organisation, requesting the High Court to declare alienation of the land to TGIIC for development of infrastructure for Information Technology companies as arbitrary and illegal.

Students of the University of Hyderabad stage a protest demanding the removal of police personnel and earth-moving machinery from the campus, in Hyderabad, Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

When this PIL plea came up for hearing on March 24, petitioner’s counsel sought an interim relief of restraining the State government and the TGIIC from undertaking any further activity on the land under survey no. 25 of Kancha Gachibowli village coming under Serilingampally mandal of Ranga Reddy district. The Foundation wanted the government not to indulge in felling of trees, clearing of vegetation and damaging of the eco-system of the forest in the said land. 

After hearing the petitioner’s contentions, the Bench directed the State government to file counter affidavit over the interim relief. On Tuesday, petitioner’s counsel brought to the notice of the Bench about the Foundation’s plea on allotment of the land to TGIIC and stated that government was using excavators and machines to uproot the trees, razing the plants and clearing of shrubs in the said land. 

The counsel informed the Bench that the government’s actions were disturbing the eco-system resulting in harm to the flora and fauna there. On being informed that another PIL petition was also filed with near similar content, the Bench instructed the High Court Registry to tag bot the PIL pleas and agreed to hear them on Wednesday.

The second petition was filed by a septuagenarian retired scientist from Uppal of Hyderabad, Kalapala Babu Rao, contending that GO Ms. no. 54 issued by government pertaining to land allotment to TGIIC was in violation of Forest Conservation Act-1980. It was mandatory for the government to constitute and experts committee (as per forest conservation rules of 2023) for preparing a consolidated record of forest lands including forest like areas in compliance with the Supreme Court directions in Ashok Kumar Sharma and others vs Union of India matter. 

Mr. Rao wanted the court to set aside the GO and declare the land in Kancha Gachibowli as National Park under the previsions of the Wildlife Protection Act-1972. He requested the Bench to order for a detailed survey of the land in terms of vegetation, wildlife, rock formations and lakes located on it.