TGIIC to ‘auction’ land in Kancha Gachibowli, UoH students launch e-petition
Hyderabad: The students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have launched an online petition on Change.org on March 11 to oppose the government’s move to auction 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli.
A group of wildlife enthusiasts has formed a ‘Save City Forests Collective’ and have appealed to the citizens, environmentalists, and policy makers to help them stop the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TGIIC) from going ahead with the proposal.
The petition started by Kirti C urges the concerned authorities to roll back the proposed auction of Kancha Gachibowli forest land by TGIIC. As of now, the petition has received over 10.5k signatures.
The online petition highlights the rich biodiversity of Kancha Gachibowli, stating that it is not just a forest, but a green lung, a natural sink making significant contributions to the overall air quality.
“The Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) is planning to auction off this land, a move which will directly imperil the rich biodiversity, and indirectly, our life,” the petition stated.
Previously, the state government proposed to auction 400 acres of prime land at Kancha Gachibowli worth nearly Rs.10,000 crore as part of resource mobilisation. Subsequently, the TGIIC released a request for proposal document (RFP) for the same.
The students of Hyderabad university and the wildlife enthusiasts are up in arms after the TGIIC invited bids for the selection of consultants towards preparation of the master plan. The prime land on survey number 25 (P) has been unofficially part of the university.
The university was established in 1974 on land of 2,324 acres and a clause was added to the agreement that land not used for academic purposes could be resumed by the State government if need be.
In the later years, previous governments started putting the unused land for various purposes such as IIIT, Gachibowli Stadium, HCU bus depot, a power station, a school and even a shooting range.
