HC notices to State government departments over land abutting University of Hyderabad

The Bench was told that authorities continued to fell trees and ground levelling works despite the HC’s order on Wednesday not to do so.
| Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR

Telangana High Court on Thursday issued notices to top officials of different departments of State and Central governments in a batch of three PIL petitions questioning the allotment of 400 acres of land abutting University of Hyderabad at Kancha Gachibowli in Hyderabad to Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation. 

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara, hearing the pleas for the second consecutive day, instructed top officials of different wings of the governments to respond to the notices by filing their respective counter affidavits by Monday. The previous day, the bench heard contentions of the counsels of the two PIL petitioners — Vata Foundation ENPO and K. Babu Rao — passing an interim order that ‘no destruction, no cutting trees’. 

The fresh and third PIL plea, filed by HCU students, seeking to set aside the GO Ms. 54 relating to land allotment was tagged to the other pleas. Senior counsel S. Niranjan Reddy representing Mr. Rao told the Bench that authorities continued to fell trees and ground levelling works despite the HC’s order on Wednesday not to do so. 

He also informed the Bench that Supreme Court had already suo motu taken cognisance of the matter and instructed the State government to immediately stall all works at the land. He told the Bench that a student of HCU was detained by Rajendranagar police of Cyberabad when he tried to record video of the trees being cut and continuation of ground levelling work at the said land. 

Supreme Court senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for State government in virtual mode, said the petitioners were attempting to hamper the proposed infrastructure project for development of IT sector by filing PIL pleas. If the proposed infrastructure for IT sector at the 400 acres of land materialises, it would create investments to the tune of ₹50,000 crore and create five lakh jobs. For the past 20 years, no petitioner raised any objections when land abutting the HCU was sold out or allotted to private entities, he said. No protests were made over the allotment of lands to private parties, he said. 

The hearing was adjourned to Monday.