Senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal, currently serving as the Principal Secretary for Tourism and Culture in Telangana, has received a notice from the Cyberabad Police in connection with an AI-generated image she reshared on social media.
The image, depicting alleged developmental activity on a 400-acre plot in Kancha Gachibowli near the University of Hyderabad (UoH), has stirred a political and environmental controversy.
The reposted image, originally shared on X (formerly Twitter) on March 31, portrayed construction machinery alongside wildlife, including two deer and a peacock, symbolizing ecological concerns over the Telangana government’s proposed plans for urban infrastructure and an IT park in the area. The post has been flagged by authorities as potentially misleading, prompting an official inquiry.
The land in question, deemed environmentally sensitive, has become the focal point of student-led protests, particularly by the UoH Students’ Union, alongside environmental activists. They have raised strong objections to the government’s auction proposal, citing threats to biodiversity and ecological balance. Meanwhile, the state government, under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, maintains that the land is government-owned and intended for public development.
With the matter currently under judicial scrutiny in both the Telangana High Court and the Supreme Court, the issuance of the police notice to a top bureaucrat has intensified the spotlight on the issue.
Smita Sabharwal is a 2001-batch IAS officer of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh cadre, now aligned with Telangana. Appointed as Secretary to the Government for Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture on November 11, 2024, she holds the distinction of being one of the youngest and most accomplished officers in the Indian bureaucracy.
Born on June 19, 1977, in Darjeeling, West Bengal, to an Indian Army officer Colonel Pranab Das and Purabi Das, Smita Sabharwal hails from a Bengali family. She received her early education at St. Ann’s High School, Secunderabad, where she topped the ICSE examination at the national level. She later earned a commerce degree from St. Francis College for Women, Hyderabad.
At the age of just 22, she cracked the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2000, securing an impressive All India Rank 4. Following her training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, she began her career with district-level training in Adilabad.
Her first independent posting was as Sub-Collector of Madanapalle in Chittoor district. She went on to serve as the Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) in Kadapa, focusing on grassroots development. As the Municipal Commissioner of Warangal, she initiated the innovative “Fund Your City” program, which enabled infrastructure development through public-private partnerships. She also served as Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes in Visakhapatnam.
Known for her proactive governance and people-centric approach, Sabharwal has earned the moniker “The People’s Officer” and remains one of the few bureaucrats with a substantial public following.