The Telangana High Court on Friday issued notices to the governments of the State and the Centre, after hearing arguments in two PIL petitions seeking suspension of GO Ms No. 27 issued on November 22 permitting industrial unit owners to convert their lands into residential apartments and commercial complexes.
The bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and S. Chalapathi Rao directed the governments to file counter affidavits in the matter by December 29. While one petition was filed by environmentalist and retired professor K. Purushotham Reddy, the second by K.A. Paul aka Killari Anand Paul. Both questioned the legality and constitutional validity of the GO brought out by the State government as part of Hyderabad Industrial Lands Transformation Policy.
K.A. Paul, appearing as party-in-person, contended that the GO permitting conversion and alienation of 9,292.53 acres of industrial land for other purposes like residential, commercial, education etc was the biggest scam in the history of the country. The total estimated value of the land was around rupees six lakh crore, he added. He sought an order to maintain status quo vis-a-vis alienation of the lands.
Senior counsel Vivek Reddy, appearing for Purushotham Reddy, said the new GO facilitated conversion of industrial lands for construction of schools, hospitals or residential buildings. However, such conversion of the industrial land for other goals mandated changes to the Master Plan of the HMDA. The new GO was issued in contravention of another GO passed in 2013. The GO of 2013 stated that industrial lands cannot be used for any other purpose till all the existing industrial units were moved out of the city outskirts.
The Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy contended the main objective of the government in issuing the GO was to make the city pollution free. The authorities wanted all the polluting industrial units out of the city. Before the government even started acting in that direction, the petitioners moved the court, he said. He assured the bench that no conversion of lands would be permitted till all the pollution causing units were moved out of the city.
The Advocate General assured the Court that the Telangana government will not permit conversion of the industrial land to be used for any other purpose, till all the polluting industries in Balanagar, Kattedan and Kukatpally are moved out of the GHMC limits without diluting the provisions of the GO issued in 2013. Further, the AG contended that objections will be called from the public, prior to amending the Master Plan.
AG, during the course of hearing of the 2 PILs said “we are not setting up Industrial Zones… we are removing and shifting the Industrial Zones to the outskirts of the city, so that Pollution is cut down and it is the apprehension of the Petitioners that the Telangana Government is permitting conversion of Industrial lands for other purposes”. The hearing was adjourned to December 12.
Published – December 05, 2025 09:59 pm IST
