Sunday evening, 30th March 2025, was the time when the peahens and peacocks of the Hyderabad forest of Kancha Gachibowli wailed in pain. Earthmovers ravaged the thick forest, pulling out indigenous trees and scaring wildlife away. The swift demolition rendered birds, mammals, and reptiles homeless, and their natural surroundings became wasteland.
Since last weekend, University of Hyderabad (UoH) students have been holding intense demonstrations to safeguard the 400-acre forest. Supported by faculty, researchers, and residents, the students are sounding the alarm at the destruction of one of Hyderabad’s few remaining urban ecological oases.
Kancha Gachibowli forest is located amid Hyderabad’s rapidly growing urban areas. Previously studded with rocky outcrops and greenery, the region is now a battleground in India’s increasing debate regarding development versus protection of the environment. A proposed infrastructure project is at the center of legal and civic strife.
Biodiversity Under Threat
Ecological studies have determined more than 730 flowering plant species, 220 bird species, 15 reptiles, and 10 mammals in the forest. The forest is an essential buffer close to Gopanpally Reserve Forest and the Osman Sagar Lake catchment area. Ecologists claim that the felling of the trees may lead to an irreversible loss of Hyderabad’s climate, water table, and biodiversity.
On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court of India took suo motu cognisance of the issue and directed the immediate suspension of further deforestation. It asked for explanations from the Telangana Chief Secretary on the emergency of the project and queried the lack of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The Development Project Controversy
The controversy started in late 2024 when plans to develop an IT Park in the area were fast-tracked. Documents accessed via RTI revealed that the development was sanctioned without a comprehensive EIA or public consultation. The proposed project covers 85 acres but is expected to affect far more, given its proximity to other sensitive ecological zones.
Activists charge secretly initiated tree chopping during university breaks. Bulldozers were rolling by mid-March, and more than 10,000 trees had supposedly been chopped by then. Brush was incinerated and wildlife driven out, despite increasing protests.
Grassroots Resistance
UoH, IIIT-Hyderabad, and TISS students came together under the banner of Save Kancha Gachibowli. They conducted tree-hugging vigils, flash mobs, and sit-ins. “That’s what makes HCU what it is—this living, breathing ecosystem. Even when the rest of Hyderabad swelters, we survive because the forest moderates everything—the air, the heat, even our moods. It’s our own Amazon… Development can’t come at the cost of nature,” opined Devika P., UoH alumnus.
Faculty members, planners, and native populations have now joined the bandwagon. They warn that Hyderabad will fall prey to the same ecological destruction observed in Delhi and Bengaluru, where the spread of cities has compromised nature’s integrity.
Legal and Political Showdown
Ignoring oral orders of the Telangana High Court on April 2 to stop deforestation, machines kept running. The University of Hyderabad Teachers’ Association openly demanded that the area be declared a bio-heritage reserve. Civil society organizations approached Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka but did not get any guarantees.
Kiran Kumar Vissa, a member of the citizens’ delegation, said, “The fact that the destruction continues shows the government’s disregard for the environment.” He mentioned the incontinence of the Wildlife Protection Act and the Telangana Water, Land, and Trees Act.
Initially granted in 2004 to a private sports academy, the land was retaken by the state in 2024 and transferred to the Telangana Government’s industrial undertaking (TGIIC) for mixed use. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy stated the project would draw Rs 50,000 crore of investment and provide 500,000 jobs. No public statistics back up these estimates, though.
Call to Recognize Urban Green Commons
Underpinning the protests is the idea of green commons—city ecological shared spaces by communities. To neighbouring villagers in Gopanpally and Vattinagulapally, the forest is grazing land, herbal material, and a sacred place. The activists contend that development initiatives cannot eliminate such common resources.
Experts compare the crisis to other environmental battles in Aarey Colony (Mumbai), Turahalli Forest (Bengaluru), and Delhi’s Ridge. The common theme, unregulated development that ignores ecological costs.
What Lives in Kancha Gachibowli?
The forest houses rare and endemic species, including:
- Hyderabad Tree Trunk Spider (Murricia hyderabadensis) – found nowhere else
- Indian Roller – Telangana’s state bird
- Oriental Skylark – Renowned for its song
- Spotted Deer, Wild Boars, Porcupines – resident mammals
- Monitor Lizards, Bronze-Backed Tree Snake – signature reptilian species
- Ground Orchids, Wild Jasmine, Flame of the Forest – flowering species
These species form a healthy, interdependent ecosystem. Interfering with it would be a loss of an important urban biodiversity node.
Urban Ecology in Peril
Kancha Gachibowli is part of the Deccan scrub forest ecosystem, rare and poorly protected. Hyderabad is already contending with air pollution, water shortages, and increasing temperatures. The loss of more green cover will exacerbate these crises.
India has lost a third of its wetlands in 40 years because of urbanization. Telangana’s 2022 move to weaken GO-111—a law that safeguards Osman Sagar’s catchment—has further put regional ecology at risk.
Environmental laws are still in pieces, and activists claim loopholes permit non-forest land to be cleared without approaching the forest department or local stakeholders.
New Legal Path: Urban Forest Protection Act
There is an increasing need for a legal mechanism similar to heritage protection acts aimed at protecting urban forests specifically. This law can require EIAs, community approval, and open land-use modifications in cities.
The Save Kancha Gachibowli movement has inspired a string of such movements in Warangal, Visakhapatnam, and Delhi. On the ground, students are chanting prayers under trees, painting protest murals, and holding community events to keep the spirit of resistance alive.
What Lies Ahead
The interim stay granted by the Supreme Court stands until the hearing on April 16. Till then, activists and citizens wait for permanent safety for Kancha Gachibowli. They seek a complete scientific ecological study and reconsideration of development priorities.
Amid India’s climate crisis, the movement urges us to rethink city expansion—one where humans and nature coexist. As Devika P. uttered, “Even when the rest of Hyderabad swelters, we survive because the forest moderates everything—the air, the heat, even our moods.”
Kancha Gachibowli is more than a green patch; it’s a gem to be protected.