High Court Halts All Work On Disputed Land Near Hyderabad University

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday ordered a temporary halt to all development activities on the controversial 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli land parcel near the University of Hyderabad (UoH) until April 3. Meanwhile, the Union Environment Ministry has stepped in, demanding a detailed report on the alleged illegal clearing of vegetation in the ecologically sensitive region.

In Telangana HC, a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara issued the interim order in response to multiple Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed against the Telangana government’s plan to auction the land for urban infrastructure and an IT Park. Petitioners argued that the large-scale clearing of trees was a violation of environmental laws, including the Forest Conservation Act and the Water, Land, and Trees Act (WALTA), as per a report on PTI.

Advocate S Niranjan Reddy, representing the petitioners, pointed out that tree felling was continuing unchecked despite the environmental concerns. He called the deforestation an "ecological disaster" and urged the court to demand satellite images from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) to assess the destruction.