Telangana Minister Sridhar Babu has accused the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of orchestrating a misinformation campaign regarding the ownership of University of Hyderabad (HCU) lands, using social media to mislead the public. Speaking to the media, the Minister stated that the Supreme Court has clearly ruled that the HCU lands belong to the state government and that this legal position is widely known.
He further noted that even the Debenture Trustee overseeing the transaction confirmed that the HCU lands are government-owned. Sridhar Babu alleged that the BRS is obstructing the state’s development and has turned against public welfare.
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He also criticized the opposition party for disseminating fake visuals online, including a photo of a deer that died in Rajasthan nine years ago, falsely claiming it had died at the HCU campus. Similarly, AI-generated images allegedly showed elephants roaming the HCU area, which he termed as fabricated content aimed at defaming the government.
Sridhar Babu refuted BRS leader K.T. Rama Rao’s claims that the land was valued at ₹30,000 crore. Citing a survey by a real estate firm named Security Bureau of India (CBI), he clarified that the land value was estimated at ₹23,000 crore — a figure ratified by both SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India. He also clarified that ICICI Bank did not issue any loan on these lands.
Defending the Congress government’s approach to funding welfare schemes, the Minister said ₹9,995 crore was raised through bonds on December 5, 2024, at an interest rate of 9.35%. The fundraising was facilitated by TGIIC (Telangana Government Industrial Infrastructure Corporation), which appointed a SEBI-registered merchant banker to manage the process.
He stated that funds were secured from 37 international institutions via mutual investment through the Market for Securitisation platform, and were used for key welfare schemes. Of the ₹8,476 crore raised through TGIIC, ₹2,146 crore was allocated for farm loan waivers, ₹5,463 crore for the Rythu Bharosa scheme, and ₹947 crore for the fine rice distribution programme.
Comparing interest rates, Sridhar Babu pointed out that the previous BRS government borrowed funds at 10.09% interest from institutions like REC, PFC, and Bank of Baroda, whereas the current Congress-led government secured loans at lower rates to minimize the financial burden on the state.
He concluded by questioning the BRS leadership’s opposition to the Congress government’s development efforts, asserting that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is working towards Telangana’s progress, and that such obstructionist tactics were detrimental to the state’s future.