University of Hyderabad students protest against land auction; cite environmental threats

HYDERABAD: Students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday protested against the Telangana government’s reported proposal to auction 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli. Following a protest call by the University of Hyderabad Students’ Union (UoHSU), students, faculty members, university staff, and environmental activists gathered at the East Campus and marched to "save" the land, according to a release from the Union.

The protesters raised slogans against the Telangana government and held placards that read, "Resist the land grab. Reclaim our university and Save the rocks." A UoHSU leader stated the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited recently announced the auction of 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli. The land includes the Mushroom Rock area within the University of Hyderabad, near its East Campus. He added that this would lead to the loss of university land as well as the biodiversity of Hyderabad. However, a UoH official clarified that the land has been owned by the state government since 1974 and was never transferred to the university.

Lack of UoH's involvement in decision making

The UoHSU stated that students, along with environmental activists and others, have raised several concerns regarding the auction. "This land currently falls within the premises of the University of Hyderabad. It is deeply concerning that the university has no say in what happens to these 400 acres. The Telangana government’s decision to auction the land to private players without consulting the university suggests an intention to accelerate privatisation," the UoHSU release said.

UoH: Demand for legal ownership transfer

The UoHSU demanded that the Telangana government immediately halt the auction process at Mushroom Rocks, constitute a team of experts to assess the area's ecological significance, and transfer legal ownership of the land to the university. The union also organised a sapling plantation event at the protest site to symbolically highlight the area's ecological importance. Additionally, it was decided to form a Joint Action Committee comprising representatives from the Students' Union, the Teaching Association, and the Workers' Union.