HCU land dispute: Congress-led government urges students to call off protest

The Congress-led Telangana government, on Tuesday, April 1, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of instigating student protests against the proposed auction of 400-acre land at Kancha Gachibowli, near Hyderabad Central University (HCU).

The ruling party claimed that the opposition was obstructing Hyderabad’s development and creating hurdles in job creation for the youth, as per a report by Hans India.

After a high-level meeting with Cabinet colleagues, civil society groups, retired professors and student representatives, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Information Technology (IT) Minister D Sreedhar Babu, and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy addressed the media. 

They assured that the auction would not encroach upon HCU’s land and pledged to protect the region’s natural rock formations, peacock lake, and other ecological habitats.

Land ownership and legal history

The ministers clarified that HCU had relinquished its claim over the 400-acre land parcel on January 13, 2004, when the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in undivided Andhra Pradesh transferred 397 acres in Gopanpalli — situated behind the university — in exchange for the Kancha Gachibowli land, which had been earmarked for IMG Bharata.

The university accepted the Gopanpalli land and even built an unauthorised structure on 10 acres of the government-owned Kancha Gachibowli land.

In 2006, the Congress government under YS Rajasekhara Reddy cancelled the land allotment to IMG Bharata, opposing the transfer of government land to a private company. The decision was legally contested, leaving the matter unresolved for years.

During its tenure, the BRS government took no action on the issue. However, after coming to power, the current government pursued the case, and in May 2024, the high court ruled in its favour, allowing the auction to proceed.

Government’s stand and student protests

According to the ministers, the government consulted HCU’s vice-chancellor a week before initiating the land development process.

They emphasised that the land auction is part of a broader plan to develop the area into an IT park, aligning with Hyderabad’s economic growth objectives.

Appealing to students to call off their agitation, the ministers said the government is open to reconsidering the cases filed against protestors involved in law and order violations during the demonstrations at the university.