The Telangana government on Thursday, April 10, categorically told the Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC) that the 400 acres of land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad (UoH, popularly known as Hyderabad Central University, HCU) at Kancha Gachibowli belonged to it and the development works were taken up recently as per existing laws.

According to sources, two senior officials represented the state government before the CEC. They explained the chronology of the events relating to the protests over the 400 acres. The officials told the CEC, headed by Siddhant Das, that the entire land proposed for the development belongs to the state government.

The officials also explained the orders of the Supreme Court and the High Court regarding the land, according to the report by The New Indian Express.

They stated that several development projects like Indian School of Business (ISB), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT), Gachibowli stadium and several residential complexes were established near the land and a road was also laid near it.

The senior officials told the CEC that the development works were taken up in accordance with the rules of the Forest and Revenue Acts.

The officials further explained that whenever major projects come up at any location, they often help in ecological development. They reportedly cited the example of Apple establishing its office in the USA, where significant environmental development took place.

The Apple campus was designed to be fully integrated with nature, featuring extensive parkland and a variety of sustainable features, the officials pointed out.

They also made it clear that the state government followed the Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA) and rules framed by the Pollution Control Board and others while clearing the vegetation. The officials pointed out to the CEC that the land has never been declared forest, according to the report by The New Indian Express.