BJP Members of Parliament from Telangana, led by Union Coal Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kuma, met with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the Kanche Gachibowli lands issue in Delhi yesterday. They requested the Union Minister to intervene in the matter of the Kanche Gachibowli lands and protect them from the State government. They also urged to protect the environment and heritage of the lands, as the state government started cleaning up the lands by bulldozers and removing flora and fauna. The BJP MPs said the Kancha Gachibowli lands were very beneficial for the environmental conservation balance of Hyderabad, as the entire area was filled with 700 types of medicinal plants and 220 types of birds. The BJP MPs explained to Mr Pradhan that the State government was looking to convert these lands into a real estate project and earn thousands of crores of rupees as income. They also claimed that the people of Hyderabad, including HCU students, were opposing the State government’s decision.

Meanwhile, State Deputy Chief Minister M Bhatti Vikramarka and IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu have reiterated that the 400-acre land at Kanche-Gachibowli is unequivocally government property. Speaking to the media at the Secretariat in Hyderabad last evening, they alleged the BRS and BJP leaders of misleading the people for their political gains. They also said such actions are unacceptable as political manoeuvrings that hinder the state’s progress are not in the best interest of the people. The Ministers clarified that the State government has not encroached upon even an inch of land belonging to Hyderabad Central University.