Government departments facing land crunch are now hunting for land in possession of other departments, especially those belonging to research and academic institutions around the city. After University of Hyderabad, the government is eyeing AP Academy of Rural Development (APARD) located at Budvel in Rajendranagar mandal. From an original 300 acre site, APARD is now left with 119 acres after its land was grabbed by other government departments and research institutes.
In a most-recent instance, the government allotted five acres of APARD land to the tribal welfare department after much wrangling. The tribal welfare department sought 10 acres to build a ST Girls Hostel, ST civil services, coaching centre, and pre-examination training centre etc., to cater to the educational needs of tribal students, but APARD turned it down. It was argued that if the allotment of land was not made, the ST student community would face irreparable loss and would be deprived of competitive coaching to scale higher positions in public services.
After much bargaining, APARD agreed to part with five acres of land, but with precondition such as: The campus shall be developed within two years; and it shall be used only for educational purposes of tribal youth.” “The state is unable to buy land at prevailing market rate and hence is requesting those in possession of land to part with it for needy departments,” an official said.