Two delegations, one each from the BJP and the BRS, strongly put forth before the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee, how the Congress government had carried out the destruction of forest cover and damaged wildlife in the 400-acre land Kancha Ganchibowli.
Hyderabad:Two delegations, one each from the BJP and the BRS, strongly put forth before the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee, how the Congress government had carried out the destruction of forest cover and damaged wildlife in the 400-acre land Kancha Ganchibowli.
A BRS delegation, led by former minister T. Harish Rao, submitted a detailed report, in which the BRS highlighted “large-scale environmental destruction, illegal deforestation, and multiple statutory violations by the state government.
Speaking to reporters later, Harish Rao, accompanied by senior party leaders, said they submitted an 11-page representation along with around 200 pages of documentary evidence to the committee.
“In Kancha Gachibowli, every rule in the book has been violated. Not a single application was filed with the forest department, nor was any permission obtained under the WALTA Act. Even on private lands, tree-cutting requires permission — and here, in forest-like terrain, no such procedures were followed,” Harish Rao said.
According to him, they informed the CEC about how the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) carried out uprooting of trees with 50 bulldozers in the day and night under police protection, where three deer died and animals moved to nearby colonies.
Harish Rao accused the government of contempt of court for installing boards declaring the land as TSIIC property, even after the Supreme Court ordered not to carry out any activity.
After submitting a representation on behalf of the BJP to the CEC along with party MPs Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and M. Raghunandan Rao, Malkajgiri MP Etala Rajendar said they had highlighted how the state government had hurriedly carried out destruction of forest in 150 acres. He demanded the state government withdraw its plans to auction the Kancha Gachibowli land.
Medak MP Raghunandan Rao blamed the BRS for the current plight of the University of Hyderabad land, by stating that a road was laid through its campus to the TNGO’s Colony when the BRS was in power.
Charging that former chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had converted the CM Office to a real estate office in his tenure, Raghunandan Rao asked why the BRS had not registered the land in the name of UoH. The BJP leaders assured the students of UoH that they will not allow for an inch of university land.
