Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 31 : BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Monday questioned the state government's urgency in acquiring Hyderabad Central University (HCU) land, and warned of environmental consequences.
"Why is the state in such a hurry to grab this land? What is the rush to turn a green haven into a concrete jungle worth Rs 30,000 crore? HCU and its surrounding areas are among the last green lungs of this part of the city. Destroying them without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a crime against Hyderabad's future. Are we heading towards a Delhi-like situation where breathing becomes a luxury?" KTR said.
Criticising the government's approach, he further stated, "Instead of stadiums and training centres, they now plan massive constructions to create another concrete jungle. This is a government obsessed with selling assets and piling up debt."
An official statement said that on March 24, BRS extended its full support to the ongoing protest by students against the Telangana State Congress government's decision to allegedly put the lands of Hyderabad Central University up for sale.
KTR announced this support on Monday. A delegation of student union leaders and students from Hyderabad Central University met KTR at Telangana Bhavan, appealing for his backing in their movement.
The students expressed their anguish, explaining to KTR that while the Congress government had previously allocated these lands for university use, the same party's administration is now acting unjustly by auctioning them off.
Responding positively to their plea, KTR advised the students to expand their agitation to students of Hyderabad Central University and other Central universities across the country.
Given that the university operates under the Central government's jurisdiction, KTR assured the students of BRS' support in raising the issue with the Central government. He promised cooperation in facilitating a meeting with Union Minister of Human Resource Development Dharmendra Pradhan to address the preservation of the university's lands.