Following a weekend filled with protests, students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) took to the streets in two locations on 1st April, amidst a heavy police presence. Students marched from one place to another, chanting slogans in protest against the auction of the 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli. Telangana’s Congress government has reportedly chosen to auction 400 acres in Hyderabad’s famed IT Hub where demand for strategically positioned huge land parcels have soared over the last years with multiple corporations setting up headquarters.
The dispute has now reached the high court as students and even environmental activists are contesting the decision to clear the property for an IT park, claiming that the area is ecologically important. Meanwhile, earthmoving machines have been deployed to clear out the land, amid raging protests. Around 500 students from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gathered at the university’s main gate for a “Dharna” that started at 10:30 am as 150 members of different student organizations agitated in front of the university’s administration building simultaneously.
They asked for a permanent border wall to prevent encroachment on university property. Additionally, they are demanding that all government orders (GOs), land surveys, legal papers, and correspondence from the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) pertaining to the auction be made publicly available. Students are also calling for legal action against administrators who broke university rules without the Executive Council’s consent.
Okay this is my university and we have been protesting for 3 days. Thank you so much for the tweet and the support. #SaveHCUBioDiversity https://t.co/yNWBgZIPmR pic.twitter.com/0vMfrZculf
— Mahi (@itsmahi__) April 1, 2025
A PhD student and ABVP member Nishanth Reddy voiced, “The university administration has been silent for the past three days. They have not addressed our concerns. We, the students, who are not even the actual stakeholders, are fighting for this land, while the real stakeholders remain inactive.” Students have expressed displeasure with the heightened security measures, reporting that police are seeking identity cards from everyone merely passing around the campus.
Reddy added, “Telangana police have taken over security in the past few days citing law and order issues. Those without ID cards are being denied entry to the university, and now even students heading to their respective departments are being asked to produce their ID cards.” More than 500 students attended the demonstration at the university’s main gate, which lasted till the evening. The Gachibowli police arrested members from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha who tried to participate in the protest.
SAVE HCU – FASCIST INFESTED!!!
— Revathi (@revathitweets) April 1, 2025
The students of HCU are NOT giving up!
They are fighting for the environment, for their rights and for the future of this city!
Police, the JCBs – the entire machinery doesn’t scare them.
The silence of most of the media, the brutality of… pic.twitter.com/EgYSbdxyoi
Students begin indefinite protest, opposition fumes against Telangana govt
The University of Hyderabad Students Union (UoHSU), which demands that police officers and earthmoving equipment be removed from the campus, has declared an indefinite protest and a boycott of courses starting on 2nd April. Teachers and students were encouraged to participate in the campus demonstration and skip lessons, according to UoHSU Vice President Akash.
The UoHSU and other student associations jointly issued a statement accusing the university administration of “betraying” students by allowing the state government to clear the land next to the institution at Kancha Gachibowli. The “brutal police crackdown” on nonviolent protesters was also denounced by them. The students wanted a written guarantee that the land would be officially registered under the university’s name.
On 30th March, a heated confrontation broke out at the varsity as Telangana police arrested students on campus and limited their freedom of movement. Students were unable to enter the east campus of School of Economics due to barricades that had been erected. According to Gachibowli police, at least 53 students were placed under arrest as a precaution and later released. The authorities were trying to clear the site in spite of protests from students who asserted that earthmover machines had invaded the east campus during an auction process.
15-20 JCBs are working rapidly right at HCU #SaveHCU pic.twitter.com/Pbo7iEshc7
— Radha Parvathareddy (@radhachinnulu) March 30, 2025
An official stated, “The protesting students obstructed the government officials while they were doing their work and some of them assaulted police personnel. Cases will be booked against them.” UoHSU and Joint Action Committee organised a peaceful rally towards the area to protest the action. They charged that police used aggressive detentions, “manhandling” multiple students as they protested while exercising their democratic right, and more than fifty students were arrested.
Meanwhile, the excavators have been working in Kancha Gachibowli despite the strong protests of the students. Peacocks, spotted deer, and other birds reportedly sent disturbing signals as the excavators rolled in, leveling the ground and removing trees.
Heart-wrenching scenes 💔💔Eco-Terror in Telangana – Peacocks Screamed, Congress Bulldozed!
— TeluguScribe Now (@TeluguScribeNow) March 31, 2025
Midnight massacre at HCU as the Telangana govt bulldozes trees, forcing peacocks to scream for help! Innocent wildlife – deer, porcupines – left homeless.
Is this how Rahul Gandhi’s… pic.twitter.com/gaBhg7Rb5N
Opposition parties have joined the chorus in pressing the Telangana government to rescind its plan to develop the environmentally sensitive property, as the dispute has gained political traction. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) mocked “The Congress’s ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’ has now reached Hyderabad Central University.” Rahul Gandhi came under fire from the party for acting contrary to his preaching. BRS also slammed the arrested of agitating students and journalists.
The Congress’ “Mohabat ki Dukaan” has now reached the Hyderabad Central University.
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) March 30, 2025
Students who were protesting against the Congress governments decision to sell off 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli and journalists were arrested by the Telangana Police. @RahulGandhi goes… pic.twitter.com/WLI9bnX4SC
The government’s move was criticized by BRS working president K T Rama Rao, who argued that it was “mindless” and would deny Hyderabad a crucial lung space. He asked why the state’s Congress government was attempting to seize the 400-acres land in Kancha Gachibowli by clearing the area of trees with hundreds of bulldozers and excavators.
According to him, the suburbs of Gachibowli, Nanakramguda, and the Financial District had quickly transformed into concrete jungles for construction, leaving just UoH and the surrounding land bloc for western Hyderabad. He questioned what was wrong if the students wanted to do an environmental impact assessment study on the 400-acre tract of land.
First – you bulldozed the homes of many poor people in the name of environmental protection!
— KTR (@KTRBRS) April 1, 2025
Next, you went after the tribal hamlets in the name of development. Barren lands and even lizards won’t lay eggs, you had said
Now you come after homes of animals and commit mass… pic.twitter.com/Us5Av7ta2Y
Rama Rao questioned why the government should target the environment and demolish the current city for future generations when an enormous 14,000 acres of land are easily available in “Future City” for IT parks and other economic activity.
When a whopping 14,000 acres of land is readily available in “Future City” for Govt to promote IT Parks & other economic activity
— KTR (@KTRBRS) April 2, 2025
Why target the precious environment & destroy the present city for future generations ? #SaveHyderabadBioDiversity
On 2nd April, a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers, headed by Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, the party floor leader for the Legislature was expected to visit the location. Several police officers have been stationed close to the MLA’s residence. Maheshwar Reddy complained that the police had denied him permission to leave his home. Furthermore, he received no notification from the police clarifying why he was being stopped.
He further charged that the police also barred other leaders and MLAs from the saffron party from leaving their homes. BJP leader Payal Shankar was detained as he was en route to Hyderabad University to participate in the agitation on 1st April.
“Since when did the government become a real estate dealer,” state BJP chief spokesperson N V Subash questioned. He denounced the police response as “an unacceptable assault on democratic rights” and backed the protests. He pointed out that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader at the time, had resisted a similar move by the Congress government in 2007–08 to surrender the land to a developer in Delhi. “What changed now? Is the Chief Minister abandoning his past stance just to fill empty coffers, please the Gandhis, and fund their freebies agenda,” he asked.
State asserts ownership of land, students refute claims
The conflict dates back several decades. The 400 acres, according to Hyderabad Central University, are a portion of the 2,324 acres that were granted to it in 1975. However, in 2022, the high court declared that there was no official record attesting to the land’s transfer to the institution. The government’s land ownership was eventually confirmed by the Supreme Court, which supported the decision.
Students and environmentalists contend that the property is an ecologically sensitive zone in spite of this verdict. More than 455 species of plants and animals, including peacocks, deer are believed to call it home. Under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, activists from the non-governmental organization Vata Foundation have petitioned for the site to be designated as a national park. They want it to be classified as a “deemed forest.”
The Telangana government has insisted that the 400-acre plot of land next to the institution was state property. The government claimed that some real estate companies and political figures had deceived students by claiming that the land had been given to the state in 2004 and then reaffirmed in 2006. Revenue records make it very evident that the area is not classified as forest land, officials maintained.
The Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) declared that it had legally established its ownership in court and issued a warning that any disagreement would be considered contempt of court. The government further stressed that a land survey was carried out in July 2024 with the university’s approval, during which time limits were decided upon in front of the institution’s representatives.
The varsity denied the Telangana government’s claim in a counterstatement, contending that no formal survey took place out in July 2024. The university stated that the revenue authorities did not conduct a survey on campus to mark the 400 acres of land that the state government reclaimed in 2006. UoH Registrar Devesh Nigam conveyed, “The only action taken thus far has been a preliminary inspection of the land’s topography.”
Moreover, he refuted the government’s statement that the university had approved of this land designation. Official authorities, however, disputed the university’s assertions, pointing out that records indicate the land in question in Kancha Gachibowli was transferred to the state government in 2004.
A Revanth Reddy, recently alleged in the assembly that public interest lawsuits were being launched in court over the land’s planned development and university students were being incited. The government wants to encourage investment, IT parks, and large-scale employment, he added, noting that the land is situated near the city’s IT hub’s Financial District. According to him, the land piece is unrelated to the university. Students, however, highlighted that the Mushroom Rock region close to UoH’s East Campus is part of the land.
Money to fund election freebies
According to the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), the 400 acres in Kancha Gachibowli Village, which is part of Serilingampally Mandal in the nearby Ranga Reddy district, would be developed and put up for auction in phases to potential purchasers to generate revenue. It stated that the government was seeking proposals to choose a transaction advising consultant to optimize the master plan and support the auction of TGIIC’s land, formerly known as TSIIC.
The document stated that the auction is being held to raise money that the state government needs to fulfil some of the promises made by the ruling Congress prior to the elections. TGIIC intends to create a sustainable master plan layout that meets international standards for the 400 acres located in Kancha Gachibowli’s Sy No 25(P). The proposals were to be submitted by 15th March, according to TGIIC.
