HYDERABAD: Professors, ecologists and environmentalists from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have demanded that the state government halt forthwith what they call the systematic environmental destruction of the 400-acre parcel of land in Kancha Gachibowli in Hyderabad.
They said: “Nearly 50 JCBs are operating relentlessly to uproot trees and vegetation, endangering the area’s vibrant ecosystem, biodiversity, and wildlife.”
They said the machinery should be removed and called for restoration of the 100 acres already ravaged over the past three days, and a halt to further harm across the remaining 300 acres. They also demanded the cancellation of plans to auction the land.
Speaking to the media at the Press Club here on Wednesday, human rights activist and former UoH professor G Haragopal, along with retired professor D Narasimha Reddy, Vissa Kiran Kumar, an environmental activist, Shivani Upadhyayula, a UoH alumnus, and Arun Vasireddy, an ecologist, said that the ministers had held talks with them after the proposal to auction the land triggered a major controversy.
“We thought the government would listen to our pleas and stop the destruction but it is removing the forest cover by cutting well-grown trees in the 400-acre land at Kancha Gachibowli in violation of Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA) Act,” they said.
‘Govt blatantly violated environmental rules’
Before undertaking project activity in the area, the government blatantly violated environmental rules by not carrying out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as per the Environmental Protection Act, which is mandatory, they alleged.
“The Act has been violated because at least five Schedule-1 wildlife species exist in the area. The Act mandates that they should be relocated before their habitat is disturbed. As per WALTA Act, before cutting down trees even on your own land, permission of Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) should be obtained,” they maintained.
They said the forest officials stated clearly before the ministers that no permission from DFO was given for the mowing down of the trees.
The Supreme Court had repeatedly said, including in its latest judgment in February 2025, that even when a land is not officially classified as forest, if it satisfies the dictionary definition of a forest, the government has a duty to protect it under the Forest Conservation Act.
Haragopal and Narasimha Reddy made it clear that while the government is harping on its legal ownership of the land vis-a-vis the university, the predominant issue of concern to the citizens and the students is the destruction of the valuable environmental resources of Kancha Gachibowli.
They condemned the government’s refusal to halt the destruction of the forest by bulldozers despite their detailed representation on the issue to the government on Tuesday.
“We feel guilty over the felling of big trees and want the government to stop the destruction of the environment. There are no land disputes and we are only asking the government to protect the ecosystem of the university. Felling trees for developing IT infrastructure is not development,” Haragopal said.
Regarding the land issue, they said that the university was established through the six-point formula accord with the intervention of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, which was also given Constitutional status through the 32nd Amendment. An allocation of 2,300 acres was made by the state government and a compound wall was constructed around the entire area.
‘Entire area an integral part of the university’
Due to the oversight on part of the university, this was not converted into a legal title on paper — but the entire area has been an integral part of the university. While the government may have ownership on paper, the students and citizens who have been using the area have a legitimate interest in preserving the area.
In fact, the land which remained with the university is the main reason that the forest with rich biodiversity grew there. They said that the citizens’ groups will continue to campaign on this issue, along with the students and faculty of the university.
“Already some of us have filed cases in the high court seeking a stop to the destruction. The campaign is also taking the issue to the national level, to force the state government to withdraw from its present course of action,” they said.