Crime Today News
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has ordered the central and state governments to file counters regarding the allocation of 400 acres in Survey No. 25 at Kancha Gachibowli in the Serlingampally Mandal of Rangareddy district to the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) for IT infrastructure development.
The court issued these directives on Monday, March 24, while postponing the hearing to April 7, instructing the governments to file affidavits on why interim orders should not be issued to suspend the implementation of the land allocation.
The allocation of 400 acres to TSIIC was made through GO 54, issued by the government on June 26 last year.
This decision has been challenged by P Udayakrishna, president of the Vata Foundation, through a public interest litigation (PIL). The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sujaya Paul and Justice Yara Renuka, is hearing the case.
During the proceedings, senior advocate S Niranjan Reddy, representing the petitioner, argued that the government has allocated land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad (UoH), which is a forested area.
He claimed that the government is attempting to sell this land at Rs 75 crores per acre, potentially destroying a region that houses rare flora and fauna for a project worth Rs 30,000 crores.
He emphasized that such allocations should involve a committee for study and assessment.
According to the central environmental notification, any destruction of forest land exceeding 150 acres necessitates an environmental impact assessment.
The petitioner requested a report from the state government detailing how many trees have been cut down without proper permissions.
He pointed out that TGIIC had issued a notification on February 28 seeking proposals for layout plans without these assessments in place.
Objections raised regarding timing of petition
The advocate general, A Sudarshan Reddy, raised objections regarding the timing of the petition since GO was issued in June.
The bench noted that the petitioner is raising issues regarding committee formation and studies while seeking to suspend the implementation of GO.
Notices have been issued to key officials including the principal secretary of government, secretaries of environmental and revenue departments, special principal secretaries of industries and IT departments, TSIIC, central environmental department officials, state chief conservator of forests, and Rangareddy collector.
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