MANUU gets show cause notice over ‘unused’ land parcel

The Telangana government has sought a resumption of 50 acres from the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) saying that the land parcel in question has not been utilised.

According to varsity sources, Rangareddy District Collector’s office sent a show cause notice to MANUU Registrar Ishtiaq Ahmad seeking an explanation as to why vacant land within the campus in survey numbers 211 and 212 in Manikonda village, Gandipet mandal, should not be resumed, as it has not been used for the purpose for which it was allotted.

“We received the show cause notice recently. There are proposals to develop the infrastructure on the vacant land, including a college. MANUU was established fairly recently, and utilising all of the allotted land cannot be done in, say, 20 years. Further, there are UGC guidelines that have to be followed,” a senior MANUU official, familiar with the developments, told The Hindu.

Another source said that the university will soon submit a more detailed response, likely outlining how MANUU administration intends to use the land parcel. MANUU Vice-Chancellor Ainul Hasan and Mr. Ahmad were unavailable for comment.

Students react

A collective of MANUU students got together to describe the move as “alarming”. They stated that the development brought to mind the University of Hyderabad-Kancha Gachibowli land issue. “The land belongs to students, teachers, and future generations of learners, and not to anyone else. We have released a statement to this effect,” said Talha Mannan, a student leader.

The students’ collective urged the university administration to take the show cause notice seriously and use the land parcel for construction of hostels, as well as develop associated infrastructure.

Speaking to The Hindu, Rangareddy District Collector C. Narayana Reddy confirmed that the show cause notice had been sent. He termed it a routine audit conducted in 2024, over ‘unutilised’ land parcels across the board. “The response from the university will be sent to the Telangana government, which will then decide the next course of action,” Mr. Reddy said.

MANUU was established in 1998 and 200 acres handed over to the then university Registrar.