Hyderabad: The Telangana government has cancelled its order leasing out 1.04 acres of Telangana Urdu Academy land to a private company, following weeks of protests from minority organisations, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The cancellation was issued through GO 23 of the Minorities Welfare (Estt.I) Department, dated August 11, which withdraws GO 20 issued on July 16. The Director of Minorities Welfare and the Director of the Telangana Urdu Academy have been directed to take further necessary action accordingly.
The now-cancelled lease involved 1.04 acres (5,220 square yards) of Academy land in Survey No 29 of Dargah Hussain Shah Wali village, Serilingampally, Rangareddy district, which was to be handed over to Hyderabad-based NN Infra & Constructions for 30 years to build an Urdu Ghar-cum-Shadikhana and a commercial complex on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis.
The lease had drawn sharp criticism after it emerged that Minority Affairs Secretary B Shafiullah had cleared the order without a public tender or competitive bidding process. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi had said the secretary lacked the authority to approve such a decision, arguing it required Chief Secretary-level clearance following public notice and objections, and had urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to intervene.
The BRS had also submitted a representation to the Chief Secretary’s office seeking cancellation of the lease and an independent inquiry into whether statutory procedures were followed. Separately, minority organisations under the Indian Line Welfare Forum and Muslim United Front had passed a resolution at a round-table conference demanding the GO’s withdrawal and restoration of the land to the Academy.
The order was signed by Ahmad Nadeem, Principal Secretary to Government (FAC), Minorities Welfare Department.
This post was last modified on August 17, 2026 12:40 pm