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T-Congress warns KCR against acquiring OU's land

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T-Congress warns KCR against acquiring OU's land
T-Congress warns KCR against acquiring OU's land

In a strong worded reaction, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has criticised the proposal of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to acquire 11 acres of land of Osmania University for weaker sections housing project.

Addressing a press conference at Congress Legislature Party office here on Monday, Shabbir Ali alleged that the Chief Minister appears to be suffering from 'open land phobia'. Wherever he sees an open land, he comes out with some construction plans. "In the name of weaker section housing, KCR wants to handover land to realtors for personal gains. Established in 1918, Osmania University is one of the most prestigious institutions of India. With a vast sprawling campus spread across 1600 Acres, the OU imparts education to thousands of students in different courses, including nearly 6,000 foreign students. It is an education hub and draws thousands of students from across the world, especially Africa and South Asia. New courses are offered by the university on regular basis and it needs more space and buildings for future needs. By 2020, more than 20,000 foreign students are expected to join the university," he said.

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In view of its importance and activities of Osmania University, Shabbir Ali said that the Chief Minister should immediately drop the plans to acquire 11 acres of land. "We will not allow the TRS Government to take even an inch of OU's land. We will launch massive agitation if KCR does not mend his ways," he said.

Shabbir Ali alleged that KCR has been pursuing his real estate ambitions since he took over as the Chief Minister. "He first eyed 627 acre prime land of Gurukul Trust. He then targeted 57 acres Chest Hospital land at Erragadda. Recently he demanded 60 acres of military land in the name of new Secretariat. He also proposed a new building at NTR Stadium and now he is eyeing on OU land. He also directed officials to identify and acquire 2,000 acres of land in city. He is seriously suffering from 'open land phobia'," he said.

The Congress leader claimed that the previous Congress Government constructed 46 lakh houses for poor, which included 70,000 units in Greater Hyderabad limits during its 10-year regime without creating any hype. However, the TRS Government has delayed the completion of about 4-5 lakh houses by not releasing the funds. Further, KCR did not construct a single unit of 2BHK flats, as promised by him during elections. "He is trying to cheat people of Parsigutta and other areas by making another false promise. If he is really serious about providing houses to poor, then he should complete the pending housing projects while constructing housing colonies in the city's suburbs," he said.

Congress MLA A Sampath Kumar also addressed the press conference.