The Telangana High Court on Wednesday halted all work on 400 acres of disputed land in Kancha Gachibowli near the Hyderabad Central University for the next 24 hours. The court passed the order after hearing public interest litigations, filed by students and the Vata Foundation, as per a report by NDTV.
Earlier, the university students had launched a protest after the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) began the work to clear the land for its auction for the development of IT parks. demands are met.
The situation escalated Sunday when bulldozers arrived. The students also announced an indefinite boycott of classes until their demands are met. Later, a confrontation ensued and the students were thrashed by the police.
What Did The Petitioners Say?
As per media reports, the petitioners had sought a stay claiming that the TGIIC was cutting trees using bulldozers in violation of Supreme Court orders.
Moreover, they argued that although the land had been allotted pursuant to a state order, TGIIC had to follow the top court's orders; i.e., constitute of a committee to oversee the felling of trees.
According to the petitioner Vata Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, the petitioners claimed that the disputed the land in question is a natural habitat to several species of animals and birds and, accordingly, sought deemed forest status and demanded it be declared a 'national park' under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
In it's direction, the apex court specifically mentioned that if the land was inhabited by wildlife the committee would have to study the impact of felling of trees for a month before reaching a decision.
However, Advocate-General Sudershan Reddy, appearing for the Telangana government, told the court the 400 acres is not recognised as a 'forest', a fact he stressed by pointing out high-rise buildings - with four helipads - had been built on adjacent parcels. He also argued that several areas in Hyderabad had snakes and peacocks, all of which could not be declared 'forests'.
After hearing both sides, the division bench of the High Court, led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, ordered ongoing work be stopped till Thursday.
