Farmers from Aloor village in Chevella have opposed the proposed acquisition of 1,248 acres for a data centre, demanding Occupancy Rights Certificates (ORCs) and protection from further official interference with land they say they have cultivated for generations.
The farmers raised their objections at a press conference on Tuesday, alleging that the Telangana government was seeking to take over the farmland by citing its status as Waqf property. They said the proposed acquisition could affect the livelihoods of nearly 600 families in the area.
The dispute places a major land-rights question alongside the expansion of data-centre and industrial infrastructure around Hyderabad. The farmers claimed they had been cultivating the land for about six decades and possessed documents supporting their rights over what they described as Innam lands.
Farmer B Buchaiah said the High Court had delivered a judgment in favour of the farmers and directed the State government not to harass them and to issue ORCs. He claimed that the government had subsequently obtained a stay order and that a survey was being conducted in the presence of police personnel.
“The High Court delivered a judgment in favour of the farmers. However, the government obtained a stay order. A survey is being conducted in the presence of police personnel,” Buchaiah said, according to the report.
The ORC demand is central to the farmers’ objection. Such certificates would formally record their claimed occupancy rights, while the farmers also sought pattas and asked officials not to interfere with their land until the certificates were issued. The report does not provide details of the High Court order, the stay order or the legal status of the land beyond the claims made at the press conference.
Another farmer, Srinivas, alleged that officials were taking away agricultural land in the name of an industrial corridor and data centres. He said farmers in the area grew flowers and vegetables supplied to markets in Hyderabad, disputing official claims that the land was not cultivable.
The dispute therefore extends beyond the proposed project site. The farmers’ statements indicate that land around Hyderabad’s expanding urban and industrial edge is being used both for agricultural livelihoods and for projects linked to the city’s technology and infrastructure economy. The competing claims over cultivation, ownership and land classification will determine how the project affects residents if the acquisition proceeds.
Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy extended support to the farmers. He alleged that the Congress government had earlier sought to acquire land in Rangareddy district and warned that a similar attempt in Aloor could carry political consequences. His remarks were made in support of the farmers and were not accompanied by an official government response in the supplied report.
The farmers said they would continue opposing the acquisition and demanded that the government issue ORCs and pattas in accordance with the court orders they cited. Further developments will depend on the status of the stay order, the ongoing survey and the government’s next steps on the proposed data-centre site.
