D Sridhar Babu, Minister for Legislative Affairs, Telangana, stated yesterday, Monday, March 24, that the state government will "not touch an inch" of the land belonging to the University of Hyderabad (UoH) in Kancha Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
On the floor of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, he guaranteed to all stakeholders that the government would not touch the two lakes (Peacock Lake and Buffalo Lake) or the rock formations, about which students had expressed concern.
Speaking in the Assembly session, Sridhar Babu lambasted the Opposition in the state for “creating a perception” that the state government was “eyeing the university (of Hyderabad) land,” Times of India reports.
"Some vested interests are spreading rumours. The government has even made it clear to the vice-chancellor and the registrar of UoH that their land will not be taken," he declared, responding to a question by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Leader and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Chandrayangutta constituency Akbaruddin Owaisi.
Owaisi’s question pertained to students’ worries over the fate of the land and a social media campaign to stop its auctioning.
The university's joint action committee also wrote to All India Congress Committee leader Rahul Gandhi, urging him to halt the Congress government in the state from auctioning off university land.
The minister stated that both he and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka are university alumni, reiterating his commitment that the university land would be untouched.
"I assure, on behalf of the chief minister, that the university land, two lakes, and rocks will not be touched. The Congress government is serious about safeguarding every inch of the university land," he said.
