Kancha Gachibowli land case: Telangana HC takes up three PILs
The division bench of acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara issued notices to the government.
HYDERABAD: Amid the controversy over the 400 acres of land in Survey No. 25 of Kancha Gachibowli, Arepalle Umesh Chand Ambedkar, president of University of Hyderabad Student’s Union and another, approached the Telangana High Court on Thursday complaining against police deployment on the university campus and preventing students from taking up protests against felling of trees in the vicinity.
They also sought a direction to stay GO No. 54, through which the Telangana government had alienated the 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli to the TGIISC for the purpose of developing plots and selling them. Further, the union sought a direction to declare the 400 acres as belonging to the University of Hyderabad.
The High Court admitted the PIL and issued notices to the government directing them to respond by Monday.
Apart from that, S. Niranjan Reddy, senior counsel appearing for the petitioner Vata Foundation in a separate PIL, submitted that the state government had blatantly violated the oral orders passed by the High Court on April 2 to stop felling of trees in Kancha Gachibowli. It continued with the deforestation and clearing of land work till Thursday morning. He submitted photographs and filed an interim application seeking action for violation of court orders and continuation of destruction works.
Further, senior counsel informed the court that the Supreme Court had granted stay on any work on the land. He said that the Rajendranagar police had detained a student of the university, when he was trying to take a video of the work that was underway.
The division bench of acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara issued notices to the government. Meanwhile, Gade Praveen Kumar, appearing for the Union government, submitted that the Union ministry has also sought a report on the issue and action would be taken, based on the report.
Supreme Court senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the state government, appeared online and said that the petitioners were trying to hinder the developmental works by filing PILs before the High Court and this was leading to loss of investment by companies to the tune of `Rs 50,000 crore and five lakh potential jobs.
For the last 20 years, no one raised any sort of protest, when the lands were allotted to different companies and institutions which came up in the vicinity of the said 400 acres land in Kancha Gachibowli, but now we see the petitioners before the court, he said.
The High Court adjourned the three PILs to April 7 for further hearing and directed the government to ensure that no work is done on the lace till that day.
