With the Revanth Reddy government under fire from students of University of Hyderabad (UoH) for clearing a 400-acre swathe of “forest land” near the campus, a section of Congress leaders admit the issue is “damaging the government’s reputation” even as Opposition parties Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and BJP sharpen their attacks. Congress’s Bhongir MP Chamala Kiran Kumar told The Indian Express that the government was ready to talk to the students to address their concerns but termed the controversy as “nothing but a political game”. “The same BRS fought for ownership of the land in courts and, now, after the Congress government won the legal battle, wants to stall development,” he said, adding that the state government did not need anyone’s permission to go ahead with the proposed project. The Supreme Court, hearing a plea on the land’s ownership in May 2024, ruled in favour of the Telangana government. Kumar also argued that the land had a green cover as it was left unused for many years. “There is no stay as of now. If the courts or the NGT decide against development, nothing can be done. Why is the Opposition provoking the protesters when there is no such stay?” he asked. Another senior Congress leader, on the condition of anonymity, echoed Kumar’s views. “As seen in the Lagcharla case, the government will back out from the project if it is found that the students’ concerns are genuine. We are ready to talk to them and listen to their concerns. But they too must remember that the highest court in the country has deemed the Telangana government to be the owners of the land in question,” the leader said. Having faced a backlash over the recent arrest of two women journalists, the latest political showdown stems from the Congress government’s decision to auction 400 acres of land through the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) for development. The move did not go down well with environmentalists who approached the Telangana High Court, citing a 1996 Supreme Court judgment, and sought the area to be declared a “national park”. The top court in 1996 ruled that any land with forest cover qualified as “forest land” even if it was not notified, and the term forest was to be understood in the dictionary sense of the word. The High Court will hear the matter next on April 7.
Revanth Reddy’s remarks
On March 26, Revanth Reddy added further fuel to the fire after, on the floor of the House, he termed the protests “politically motivated” and likened the BRS to “cunning foxes for instigating the protests”. “There are no tigers or deer in that area, just some cunning foxes who are trying to obstruct development,” he said. The Congress has largely stuck to this narrative even as the BRS has questioned the silence of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, given his vocal support of other environmental issues in the past. Protests intensified on the campus on Sunday after the police detained 53 students when they tried to prevent over 50 earth-moving equipment from clearing the land. They questioned the government’s move, days before the High Court is set to hear a plea on the issue. BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan said the protest was about the “future of Hyderabad, and the flora and fauna”. “If you want to develop real estate, why don’t you do it in the 45,000 acres acquired for the Future City project. Why do you want to destroy a natural forest to erect a concrete jungle? What was the hurry to send the equipment? This only shows the government does not believe in courts and exposes Gandhi’s double standards,” he said, pointing out that Gandhi visited the university twice to join protesters in the Rohit Vemula case. While wildlife enthusiasts say the area is inhabited by 237 bird species, 15 species of mammals, a star tortoise (a protected species) and various animals falling under Schedule 1, a joint study of the university and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India found the area to be home to over 455 species of flora and fauna. The students claim that the land “in principle” belongs to the university and must not be a part of the proposed development project. They argue that the area is crucial to the university’s plans to achieve a yearly intake of 25,000 students as against the 5,000 it admits currently.
Where the government, Opposition stand
The Telangana government, however, has been emphasising that the land in question was never marked “forest land” in revenue department records and is a part of the parcel that was set aside by the undivided Andhra Pradesh government for setting up the university in 1974. The Revanth Reddy government also claims that the government at the time agreed to transfer 534 acres to a private sports development company in 2003 and tried to reclaim it in 2006 after the deal saw no progress, leading to a lengthy legal battle that eventually culminated in the May 2024 Supreme Court ruling. Calling out the “double standards of the CM”, BJP MLA and the party’s Assembly floor leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy told The Indian Express, “When Revanth was in the Opposition, he was against the sale of government land. Now as CM, he is doing that without fulfilling any election promises.” “Even if the government owns the land, it does not mean they should sell it. We will not allow that to happen at any cost. That is why we say the BRS and Congress are the same,” he added.
