KBR Park Road Widening Affected Owners Forum protest land acquisition for Hyderabad-CITI project

Owners of properties on Road No.92, Jubilee Hills have questioned the urgency with which the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has begun the property acquisition process for H-CITI project without following due procedures and evading the High Court’s directives about fair process. They also brought forth a proposal to make the entire stretch around KBR Park a one-way, to resolve the traffic crisis without having to spend a fortune on the flyovers and underpasses as part of project.

Residents and traders along the route formed a coalition titled ‘KBR Park Road Widening Affected Owners Forum’. Addressing a media conference on Saturday (November 1, 2025), they decried the coercive methods employed by GHMC officials to secure their lands.

Explaining the chronology of events, president of the Forum, V.V.Shastri, said the GHMC had initially tried to acquire the properties under Section 146 of the GHMC Act, 1955, in June-July, 2024. The section obligates GHMC to seek the consent of the property owners through a notice.

“The notice, however, threatened that if we did not give consent in seven days, our structures would be conceived as encroachment and removed. We immediately filed a petition in High Court which declared the notice null and void,” Mr. Shastri said.

In August, 2025, another notice was served citing a gazette notification for land acquisition, with 30 days time for filing objections. After objections were filed, the Special Officer, Land Acquisition called for a public hearing where the property owners questioned the justification for the project with no avail.

“We were not shown any plans for the project despite seeking them. Instead, they just showed us a paper on which two straight lines were drawn showing the extent of property to be acquired,” Mr. Shastri said, whose 290 square yard property is set to go for the project.

He also alleged wilful harassment by GHMC officials who arrive once in every two or three days seeking one document or the other.

“It’s either title deeds, or building permissions or something else. They are trying to find some loophole so that they can demolish the property under the pretext,” he alleged, and questioned if it is a democratically elected body in power or anarchy.

He also mentioned that around 1000-1200 fully grown trees are set to be removed from the road median to accommodate the flyovers.

Alternatives proposed

“We request the government to consider our suggestion to make the whole road one way during the morning and evening peaks, to address the traffic issue. Or else, they may explore the odd/ even number strategy of Delhi government. All roads are congested in city. You can’t possibly go about demolishing all the buildings for roads,” he said.

Another owner, Sridhar, suggested that the government take over the eco-sensitive zone of the KBR Park which is anyway occupied by eateries and ground/multi level parking. “Due to acquisition on a single side, a few plots will be left with very meagre area which will not be of any use to the owner,” he pointed out.

Nagendra Parvataneni, another owner, accused the Government of targeting the local residents, after failing to properly represent its case in the National Green Tribunal for the project.

“The land in the ESZ mainly consists of ornamental plants, and shrubs. In contrast, the currently proposed widening will destroy the entire road median that has large trees over 30 years old. Their translocation is practically impossible,” Mr. Parvataneni said.