HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday constituted a committee with group of ministers (GoM) to hold consultations with the executive committee of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) and stakeholders to recommend a way forward on Kancha Gachibowli land issue.The GoM will comprise Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and ministers D/ Sridhar Babu and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.The GoM has been asked to hold consultations with the UoH executive committee, joint action committee (JAC) of UoH comprising students unions, teaching and non-teaching staff besides various civil society groups, students delegation and all stakeholders concerned.The move came hours after the Supreme Court directed the government on Thursday to stop the “alarming deforestation activities” in Kancha Gachibowli land until further orders.Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti and minister Sridhar Babu said that the state government would fully comply with the Supreme Court’s orders on the Kancha Gachibowli land issue. They reiterated that all information would be submitted to the apex court within the stipulated time, reaffirming their faith in the judicial system.In a joint statement issued on Thursday, they said that justice would prevail and directed officials, including the additional DGP (intelligence) and Cyberabad police commissioner, to exercise restraint and avoid harsh measures against students who are protesting.Sridhar Babu criticised the BRS, calling out its “hypocrisy” in claiming to protect UoH land if it returned to power. He clarified that the Congress government had no intention of encroaching on the varsity land and assured that not even an inch of it would be disturbed.He accused BRS leaders of misleading students by using fabricated images and manipulated videos to provoke unrest through social media. “The BRS is attempting to use students as pawns for political gains,” he stated, condemning their alleged deceitful tactics.The minister further criticised BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao for resorting to personal attacks on Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He demanded an apology for the “baseless” remarks against the Chief Minister, arguing that the government was focused on industrial development and job creation, while the opposition is engaging in false propaganda to hinder progress.The minister clarified that the 400-acre land in Gachibowli had no connection to the UoH.”The land is legally owned by the government, as affirmed by both the High Court and the Supreme Court. The TD government in the undivided Andhra Pradesh had allocated it to a private company, but it was the Congress government that revoked that decision and protected the land,” Bhatti explained.He questioned why BRS remained silent about these lands for ten years but is now engaging in “political theatrics.” He further accused the BRS government of misusing lands in the surrounding areas for personal and political gains.Bhatti and Sridhar Babu attacked BRS for its dubious environmental record, citing deforestation instances during its tenure. Between 2014 and 2023, the BRS government oversaw the destruction of 4,28,437 acres of forest land, they said.They said the Kaleshwaram project had led to the clearing of 7,829 acres of forest and felling of over 12 lakh trees between 2016 and 2019. They also alleged that BRS destroyed nearly 1,000 century-old trees for the construction of the new secretariat.They recalled that during the BRS government, there were plans to construct double-bedroom houses on Osmania University land. When students protested, the plan was scrapped. “Now, they are pretending to protect UoH lands that were never under threat in the first place,” they remarked.The ministers urged BRS to abandon its “anti-progress mindset” and align with the aspirations of the people instead of spreading “lies and deceit.” They asserted that the real objective if BRS was ‘to create unrest and obstruct industrial progress’ in the state.
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