HYDERABAD: In a sharp rebuttal to the BRS delegation led by T. Harish Rao, which submitted a representation to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) regarding the Kancha Kancha Gachibowli lands, the Telangana Congress has accused the opposition party of hypocrisy and selective outrage over environmental concerns.
TPCC Media and Communications Chairperson Sama Rammohan Reddy, in a detailed statement, welcomed the fact that the BRS did not challenge the ownership of the 400-acre Kancha Kancha Gachibowli land, acknowledging it belongs to the State government. “They only claimed it is ‘deemed to be forest’. This only exposes their hypocrisy,” Reddy said.
He questioned why, if the land is indeed deemed forest, the BRS government failed to officially designate it as such during its own tenure. “What was their intention for this land? Another luxury apartment like the MyHome project that got approvals right next to this land during their rule?” he asked. He further alleged that environmental clearances for adjacent luxury projects during the BRS regime cast doubt on their current claims.
Reddy highlighted the BRS’s own environmental track record, alleging that it was the previous government that forced the University of Hyderabad to fell naturally grown trees under the guise of planting saplings for its flagship Haritha Haram programme. “None of those saplings survived. Hundreds of native trees were lost. Isn’t this hypocrisy?” he questioned, adding that KCR himself had visited the university to plant saplings.
In its representation, the BRS accused the Congress government of violating forest and environmental laws in taking possession of the land. However, Reddy said such allegations ring hollow given BRS’s own history from 2014 to 2023. “During their tenure, were there no environmental violations? Were Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) conducted for the many large-scale urban projects they undertook?” he asked.
The Congress leader accused BRS of turning a blind eye to ecological degradation when in power and only discovering environmental activism after moving to the opposition benches. “Didn’t they allocate lands for commercial, mining, and industrial purposes that also threatened green spaces and wildlife?” he asked.
He pointed to the irony of BRS’s claim of “intergenerational inequity” in land use, questioning how a party that allegedly prioritised short-term economic gain can now speak of sustainable development. “Their sudden environmental concern is convenient now that they’re no longer in power,” he said.
Mocking the BRS’s mention of wildlife in the land parcel, Reddy concluded with a veiled jibe: “They speak of wildlife, but forget to mention the dangerously venomous PINK snakes trying to take control. Maybe someone should create this PINK snake in AI, so the world can see what they really mean.”
The war of words between the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS appears to be escalating, with the Kancha Kancha Gachibowli land controversy now becoming a flashpoint in Telangana’s political landscape.
