In Telangana, a case of missing the woods

Over the past few days, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) felt the tremors of relentless bulldozing of the shrub forest abutting it.

- Sowmya Dechamma CC

Over the past few days, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) felt the tremors of relentless bulldozing of the shrub forest abutting it. Cries of peacocks, of the many "insignificant" beings, and the sound of rocks and boulders that are millions of years old being crushed accompanied this. But this destruction directed by the government of Telangana—aimed at auctioning 400 acres of UoH-Kancha Gachibowli land to private parties—has been met by the tremors of UoH student protests to save this biodiverse space. These tremors were felt across the nation and indeed moved the Supreme Court to take immediate action and stop the reckless destruction of the area's ecology.

These 400 acres, part of the 2,300 acres allotted to UoH in 1975 that are demarcated specifically for educational purposes, had been under dispute since the early 2000s. After a long legal battle, the 400 acres were granted by the Supreme Court to the government of Telangana in mid-2024.

The state government has invoked every institutional apparatus in its power to argue that the 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli are not a classified forest. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's remark that there were only foxes in and around the area but no tigers and deer sparked much debate and ridicule. The government has also insisted that the auction of this land is in the interest of development and would create lakhs of jobs.