Student unions have sought an official probe into the alleged felling of trees and excavation of soil at Satavahana University in Karimnagar, saying the work was being carried out to make way for a synthetic track on the campus.
Leaders of the Student Federation of India submitted a representation to university Vice-Chancellor Umesh Kumar on Thursday. SFI district president G Srikanth alleged that mature trees were being cut and soil was being excavated under the guise of laying the track, and urged the university to take action against those responsible.
Srikanth alleged that the work was illegal and could adversely affect the campus environment. He requested the vice-chancellor to lodge a police complaint against the responsible persons and asked the forest department to investigate the alleged tree felling by registering a case against the executing agency.
The representation also accused university officials of negligence in protecting the campus greenery. The report did not state whether the university had issued any approval for the tree removal, identified the executing agency or provided details of permissions for the track project.
Meanwhile, Telangana Rakashna Sena district president G Hariprasad called for a comprehensive inquiry by university officials. He alleged that around 500 fully grown trees had been cut to facilitate construction of the synthetic track and said the work was damaging the environment.
The allegations followed the circulation of a video clip on social media platforms showing tree felling at the campus, according to the report. A joint action committee of student unions also expressed concern over the alleged removal of trees and excavation of soil.
The dispute places the environmental oversight of institutional construction projects at the centre of the controversy. The student organisations have sought action by the university, police and forest department, but the report does not record a response from the vice-chancellor, the executing agency or the forest authorities to the allegations.
The immediate questions are whether the reported tree removal was authorised, what environmental or institutional permissions were obtained, and whether the agency carrying out the work complied with them. The university and the forest department have been asked to investigate the matter.
