An action research report, “Invited Disaster: Khadi Floods in Surat City”, published by two civil rights groups, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Surat, states that nearly half of Gujarat’s top urban conglomerate—known for its concentration of textile and diamond polishing industries—is affected by the dumping of debris and solid waste, along with the release of treated and untreated sewage into the khadis (rivulets), thereby increasing the risk of flood disaster.

Conducted by two post-graduate students from Azim Premji University, Avadhut Atre and Buddhavikas Athawale, with assistance from environmental lawyer Krishnakant Chauhan, architect Sugeet Pathakji, environmentalist Rohit Prajapati, and urban planner Neha Sarwate, the study is based on field observations of the khadis passing through the South Gujarat town.

Using available secondary data, the study corroborates and confirms observed changes in these rivulets—intended as natural stormwater drainage channels for the urban area—through historical satellite images from Google Earth and interviews with stakeholders.

According to the study, authorized and unauthorized constructions, land reclamation along khadis, and resectioning and remodeling of khadi flows have severely compromised their capacity to carry stormwater. “In many areas in Surat city, smaller natural waterways have been levelled and converted into roads to facilitate traffic flow, overlooking the critical need for smooth stormwater drainage,” it asserts.

The study notes, “It can be said that the rainwater falling in city areas is unable to exit due to the ‘development’ of the city. The flooding of khadis impacts the eastern part of Surat city, affecting over 50% of Surat’s population. The textile trade also suffers during flooding, leading to economic losses.”

It estimates that khadi floods affect East Zone A, East Zone B, South East Zone, South Zone, and South West Zone, which collectively house approximately 43,75,207 of Surat’s total 82,32,085 residents.

More alarmingly, the study points out that the khadis are fed by discharges from sewage treatment plants. Moreover, numerous illegal outlets release both domestic and industrial effluents into the khadis. In fact, the city’s expanding periphery contributes untreated sewage into these waterways.

Containing a large collection of Google Earth images—compared from 2011 through 2025—of several rivulets such as Mithi Khadi, Koyali Khadi, Bhedwad Khadi, and Kankara Khadi, the study criticizes the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) for undertaking desilting as part of pre-monsoon preparedness “without due caution,” which, it claims, harms floodplain areas and reduces the capacity of the khadis to handle excess monsoon water.

One such example is a bridge over Mithi Khadi, now surrounded by a high wall over land that previously acted as a floodplain. Landfilling has raised the terrain above the natural flood level, pushing water toward other low-lying areas. “The obstruction around the bridge hampers smooth flow of water during the monsoon,” the report says.

The study further observes that construction and reclamation have reduced floodplain areas and the width of khadi stretches. Dumping and landfilling have drastically altered the elevation profile. At one site, a compound wall built in 2018 has resulted in the khadi being embanked by a concrete wall, shrinking its original area.

At another site, textile waste is directly dumped into the khadi, while accumulated solid waste and soil significantly hinder water flow. “A sewage outlet was observed discharging domestic and chemical wastewater—particularly from nearby units—into the khadi.”

Focusing on Koyali Khadi, the report notes that road construction over it restricts natural water dispersion, causing severe waterlogging in the surrounding areas during monsoon. Particularly concerning is the ongoing project from Bhathena Naher bridge to Jeevan Jyot bridge, where the khadi is being fully concretized, drastically reducing its natural capacity.

The researchers warn, “With little to no space for excess water to flow or merge into other channels, this development poses a high risk of urban flooding and long-term stagnation during monsoons.” They add that the silt removed during desilting is often dumped on the banks, only to wash back into the khadi during heavy rain.

A comparative analysis of Google satellite imagery from 2011 to 2025 at Saniya Hemad village, located on Surat’s fringe, reveals “a noticeable alteration in the khadi’s flow pattern.” The 2011 image shows a naturally meandering khadi, while the 2025 image reveals a straightened course.

“Although this engineered modification may appear efficient in the short term, it shortens flow duration and reduces water retention, diminishing both ecological and flood-buffering functions,” the researchers highlight.

Near the Raghuvir Trade Market on Bhavani Road, earlier imagery showed a visible khadi flow, which by 2025 has vanished due to construction. Built-up structures over the khadi’s path have obstructed this natural drainage, increasing the risk of urban flooding.

Examining the impact of development on water flow, the study notes that the Bhedwad Khadi followed a wider, more continuous path in 2011. By 2025, construction near Bamroli cricket ground has narrowed its course and reduced its flow capacity.

It adds that near the Dindoli Water Treatment Plant, the Bhedwad Khadi’s course has been significantly altered and straightened for aesthetic reasons, severely compromising its natural flow.

In the area around Om Industrial Estate in Saroli, researchers found the khadi’s path constantly shifting. Its older flow, once almost gone, reappeared in 2025 imagery. “Taming a khadi and constructing concrete embankments drastically alters its natural behavior,” they say, “leading to unintended consequences such as heavy silt accumulation.”

At the Kankara biodiversity park, a 2016 image shows the right bank of Kankara Khadi concretized with a diaphragm wall. The park and a road were built by raising the land level. By 2025, both banks have diaphragm walls, eliminating the khadi’s natural meander and floodplains.

Further, near Gabheni village on the city outskirts, the khadi’s course has changed due to drastic land use alterations. “Legal and illegal shrimp farms have contributed to this change. Industrial waste dumping here has led to severe water and soil pollution,” the report adds.

During fieldwork, most respondents identified poor stormwater drainage as the key issue. “Drains are too narrow, broken, or absent in some areas,” the study says. These are further clogged by solid waste, particularly plastic, discarded by residents and industries.

Shopkeepers highlighted the lack of regular SMC clean-up. They reported repeated losses during monsoon, as inventories are damaged and earnings suffer. Businesses shut down for days due to prolonged water stagnation.

In low-lying markets, encroachment on khadi banks and lack of flood management lead to backflow during heavy rainfall. Locals noted a rise in unseasonal rains, aggravating waterlogging. Builders acknowledged that unplanned urbanization has severely disrupted the city’s hydrology.

“Residents, particularly near Koyali and Mithi khadi, emphasized the interlinkage among the khadis. When Kankara Khadi overflows, water backflows into Mithi Khadi, causing flooding in homes. This is devastating in low-lying areas with poor housing,” the study notes.

“Loss of income is the most immediate impact,” residents report. For shopkeepers and daily wage earners, flooding forces closures for several days. One woman said, “I am the sole earner. When it floods, work halts for 4–5 days. My shop remains shut for a week. We then rely on SMC for food and water.”

Mobility is another major issue. Waterlogged streets restrict access to work and healthcare. Children miss school, and both public and private transport becomes unreliable due to submerged roads.

The report concludes by stressing health risks. Waterborne diseases like fever, diarrhea, and skin infections, along with vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, increase after khadi floods. Residents mentioned rising medical expenses, adding strain to financially stressed households. “Stagnant water near homes, especially by khadi banks, becomes mosquito breeding grounds, worsening health conditions,” it warns.

Courtesy: CounterView

The post Unchecked urbanisation, waste dumping: Study warns of ‘invited disaster’ as khadi floods threaten half of Surat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

One village I particularly remember is because of the great enthusiasm and happiness I saw among the people, particular women, due to the recently taken up water conservation efforts which had improved their life in a very significant ways. This is Markhera village of Tikamgarh district (Madhya Pradesh) in Central India. People of this village had been facing increasing difficulties due to water shortages. Water table was declining and water level in wells was going down too. Hand pumps were often reduced to just a trickle. As women here bear most water related responsibilities, their drudgery in fetching water from more distant places increased. Many of them had back ache from drawing water which was too low down in wells.

It is in this condition that a social activist named Mangal Singh contacted villagers. He told them that the organisation he belonged to (SRIJAN) had a program of digging saucer shaped structures in water courses or seasonal water flows so that some of the rain water would remain in them for a much longer time for the dry season. As this is exactly what the villagers needed, they agreed readily.

When this work was taken up, villagers could also take the silt that was use it for bund construction in their fields. The main benefit from the conservation of water in the newly constructed structures, called dohas, started being visible all too soon. Soon the demand for more dohas upstream and downstream came up. These benefited more and more farmers including those in neighbouring villages.

While this work was being taken up the activists developed a closer relationship with the community and together they reached an understanding that to get fuller benefits, several broken structures (like check dam gates) of previous water conservation work taken up by the government in the past also needed to be repaired. Here again the initial results were so encouraging, with substantial benefits of increased water availability resulting from an expenditure of just INR 20,000 (about 250 US dollars) at one repair site, that there were demands for repairing other structures upstream and downstream of this. When this work was also completed, the water scene of the village changed from one of acute scarcity to abundance.

As I learnt from several villagers, many more farmers are now able to irrigate their farms properly and crop yield has increased for several of them by about 50% or so. Some of them are able to plant take an additional crop as well. The water level in wells and hand-pumps has risen so that drinking water too can be obtained more easily. Women do not have to spend much time in getting essential supplies of water, nor do they have to take up very tiring work. It has even been possible to obtain the water needed for creating a beautiful forest, not far from the water course and the main repair work site, which in turn would also contribute to water conservation. As a young farmer Monu Yadav said, the benefits have been many-sided and far reaching. One of the less obvious but nevertheless important gains in fact relates to increased cooperation for tasks of common benefit. As the benefits of dohas would be lost after a few years if these are not cleaned and not maintained properly, groups of farmers have been formed with farmers closest to a doha being made collectively responsible for maintenance work.

Such small-scale water conservation work can be very cost effective. The entire work of repairs and pits at this place has cost just around INR 400,000 (about 5000 US dollars) or so while many-sided and durable benefits have spread to several villages. In fact in its entire planning for water conservation work SRIJAN has emphasised low-cost works such as doha pits as well as repair and renovation of already existing structures. In neighboring Niwari district, the experience of dohas dug in Gulenda village water-channel has been particularly encouraging.

Another benefit of such small scale water conservation works is that in such cases the prospects of involving the community in planning and implementation and benefitting from their tremendous knowledge of local conditions are immense and therefore such small water conservation schemes are invariably more creative and successful compared to big, costly, centralized ones.

Till just about five years ago, in Nadna village of Shivpuri district (Madhya Pradesh) the situation for most households was quite distressing. As several women of this village related recently in a group discussion, most of the rainwater rapidly flowed away from the village quite rapidly on sloped land, leaving hardly anything for the longer dry season ahead and contributing very little to water recharge. What is more, on the sloped land the rapid water torrents carried away a lot of the fertile topsoil as well.

With all the rainwater being lost quickly and even carrying away fertile soil, the farm productivity in the village was very low, and in fact very little could be grown in the season devoid of monsoon rains. Some of the land even remained uncultivated. In this village located in Pichore block, water scarcity remained a constraint not just for farming but also for animal husbandry. Not just villagers and their animals, but wild life also suffered due to water scarcity.

Due to low development prospects in farm and animal husbandry based livelihoods, people of this village, particularly those from poorer households, were becoming heavily dependent on migrant labour. The work which most of the migrants from here could get was frequently exploitative and also uncertain, but due to lack of alternatives, villagers had to resort to this as a survival mechanism despite all the distress and difficulties they suffered.

However about four years back a number of water conservation steps were initiated in this village. These included the creation of bunds and digging of small ponds in fields and construction of a gavian structure to keep a good part of rainwater in the village. In the two nullahs which drain the rainwater, about 80 spots were selected in consultation with the local villagers for digging dohas.

All this helped to conserve rainwater at many places but in addition also increased the overall water level in the village and its wells so that it has become possible to get more water more easily from wells and hand-pumps. Now farm animals as well as wild animals can find more water to drink even in dry months. Moisture conservation has resulted in the sprouting of more grass and related greenery, resulting in better grazing for animals.

At the same time, farm productivity has gone up. Now there is more cultivation of non-monsoon crops like wheat and in addition some of the land left more or less uncultivated earlier has also been brought under cultivation now. With soil erosion being checked too, soil quality is getting better. As a result of all this the dependence of villagers on exploitative migrant labour has reduced considerably.

The situation in Umrikhurd village in this district has also changed in a somewhat similar way, thanks to the digging of farm ponds and dohas as well as the creation of bunds in farms. An additional livelihood of pond fisheries has also emerged. As women related happily in a recent group discussion, now you can find water at several places where earlier it used to be dry by now.

These initiatives in the two villages of Shivpuri district were taken up by SRIJAN voluntary organization with support from Axis Bank Foundation and IndusInd Bank. The trust and involvement of these communities is also evident from their willingness to contribute their share of voluntary work as well as some economic resources.

In many villages of Bundekhand region of Central India, SRIJAN implemented a special program called BIWAL (Bundelkhand Initiative for Water, Agriculture and Livelihoods), also involving other leading voluntary organizations of the region in its implementation. In this initiative water conservation has been well integrated to improvement of soil and increase of farm yield by mobilizing the village community for a simple program.

In Bundelkhand region, comprising 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states, a very important contribution to water conservation has been made historically by well-constructed water tanks some of which go back to about 1000 years or even more. The ABV Institute of Good Governance has identified nearly 1100 such tanks. However several of them have become heavily filled with silt due to cleaning and de-silting work having been neglected for years. In this situation SRIJAN offered to arrange the de-silting work while farmers volunteered to carry away the mounds of highly fertile silt taken out from the tanks to their fields. As silt was taken out, the capacity of tanks to retain more rainwater increased. As more fertile silt was deposited in farms, the chances of making a success of natural farming, without using chemical fertilizers, increased.  Hence both the tasks of water conservation and farm improvement were well integrated. While SRIJAN and Arunodaya organizations initiated this work in Baura village of Mahoba district (Uttar Pradesh), a community organization was formed to take this forward and later the community came forward to take to take up the de-silting work on its own.

This approach was particularly useful in the Karauli district (Rajasthan) where in the rocky land of Makanpurswami village, deposition of a lot of fertile silt led to many acres of unproductive land becoming cultivable, again providing a great example of linking water conservation and improvements in farming. Here the villagers had initiated water conservation work on their own but the arrival of SRIJAN helped and motivated them to take it up on a much bigger scale.

In Teen Pokhar village land and soil conditions are difficult and wild animals also disrupt farming, but several farmers are hopeful even in these difficult conditions as SRIJAN and other voluntary organizations have created several new pokhars or ponds in the village apart from repairing earlier ones. Several of these are linked to each other so that excess of one can flow to another. In Rawatpura village of this district, the once difficult situation is now looking even more hopeful as the creation of several new ponds has made it possible to take farming to more and more land that could not be cultivated earlier.

These are only some examples of villages where the optimum utilisation of relatively quite low budgets led to very significant improvements in water conservation, bringing many-sided benefits to villagers and in some cases changing the situation of villagers from despair to hope. These achievements of water conservation are also very useful in terms of contributing to climate change adaptation.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071)      

The post As heat waves intensify in India, some inspiring examples of how small budget efforts conserve water, big time appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Plenty of ‘tokenism’ and ‘cosmetic’ action – most of which, will be forgotten tomorrow. Trees are necessary but is there someone who will nurture the saplings and ensure their growth? Public awareness on the importance of the environment is a prerequisite – but then words ring hollow when the ones who wax eloquent are the very ones who are in nexus with the land mafia who cover our waterbodies for their high-rise building and who cohort with the mining mafia to plunder our precious natural resources.

Interestingly, the theme for World Environment Day 2025 is ‘Ending Global Plastic Pollution’. It focuses on the widespread impact of plastic pollution, from visible waste to micro plastics in various ecosystems, and calls for action to reduce and eliminate it. But who cares? Some of the big manufacturers will continue rolling out their reams of plastic without any qualms of conscience – after all, they will always have the protection of the powerful. Our seas and rivers are polluted with plastic waste. There are practically no checks and balances, to ensure that plastics below 120 microns are not used as carry-bags or for that matter there is strict segregation of garbage disposal and nothing is dumped into our seas, rivers and other water-bodies,

On the 2024 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), India is ranked at a pathetically low position of 176 out of 180 countries. The low ranking is due to poor air quality, high projected emissions and low biodiversity scores. The EPI uses 58 indicators to assess a country’s environmental performance. Indicators, include biodiversity, air pollution, air and water quality, waste management, emission growth rates, projected emissions, etc., under the three main heads of ecosystem vitality, environmental health and climate change.

To assess how well countries are safeguarding their natural treasures, the EPI added a new category this year: biodiversity and habitat. This category revealed a worrying trend – many protected areas worldwide are being overtaken by buildings and agriculture. India’s heavy reliance on coal is a key factor hindering its environmental performance across multiple indicators. Coal use not only fuels high greenhouse gas emissions but also contributes significantly to India’s severe air pollution problem. This is reflected in India’s rankings: 177 for air quality (above only Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal).

This grim reality, cries for Environmental Justice! It is the cry of the poor! The cry of the earth! ‘Environmental justice’ is today a global social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed. Additionally, many marginalized communities, including the LGBTQIA+ community, are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters.

The primary goal of the environmental justice movement, is to achieve agency for poor and marginalized communities (particularly the excluded and exploited) in making environmental decisions that affect their lives. The global environmental justice movement arises from local environmental conflicts in which environmental defenders frequently confront multi-national corporations in resource extraction or other industries. Local outcomes of these conflicts are increasingly influenced by trans-national environmental justice networks.  In India we experience today how mega-corporations and the mining mafia are literally ruling the roost. What is happening in the tribal areas of Manipur and the Adivasi areas of Bastar, Chhattisgarh today are clear examples of how environmental justice is denied to these sections of people!

In a few days from now, the 62nd sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB 62) will convene from June 16 to 26, at the World Conference Centre Bonn in Germany. The outcomes of SB 62 are expected to shape the agenda and inform decisions at COP30 later in the year. The 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that is COP30 will take place from 10 to 21 November in Belém, Brazil.  During this climate summit, governments must take new steps to limit the climate crisis and achieve the target of a maximum of 1.5 degrees of global warming.

In the context of the above two meetings, the Society of Jesus have launched globally ‘Jesuits for Climate Justice SB62 and COP30 campaign’ stating that, “the climate crisis can no longer be denied. Its most severe effects are felt in countries where extreme weather devastates communities, rising sea levels threaten coastal regions, and ecosystem collapse jeopardizes livelihoods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warns of “a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” This crisis demands immediate and decisive actions, and COP30 is a critical event for the global community in addressing the climate emergency. In the spirit of the Jubilee of Hope, we call upon all people of goodwill to advocate for a just and sustainable future, urging delegates to COP30 and governments to: 

1. Cancel the debt of underdeveloped countries and strengthen the Loss and Damage Fund. Unjust and unpayable debts from underdeveloped nations should be cancelled so that resources could be free for climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and a grant-based Loss and Damage Fund must provide adequate resources to address the devastating impacts of climate change. 

2. Accelerate agreements and set targets for a Just Energy Transition to reduce CO2 emissions. A Just Energy Transition should consider historical responsibilities, respect Indigenous rights, value nature, and prioritize sustainable livelihoods over profit-driven models. 

3. Set concrete targets to build a Global Food Sovereignty System based on agro ecological practices. A system that promotes culturally adapted modes of production, transformation, distribution, and food consumption, applying ecological principles to agriculture. 

The COP process is imperative for making international progress on the climate crisis. Pope Francis stated, “It is a matter of establishing global and effective rules that can permit ‘providing for’ this global safeguarding” (LD, 43). All are invited to join in this important campaign.

Long years ago Mahatma Gandhi reminded us that, “the world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed.” In his path-breaking Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’, our beloved late Pope Francis echoes a similar sentiment “we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”  These are genuine cries for environmental justice! But is the world listening? Are we listening? If so, radical and prompt action is demanded immediately – NOW! 

(The writer is a human rights, reconciliation, environmental & peace activist/writer)

The post Cries for Environmental Justice: India at a low 176/180 countries in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While this has been well recognised for a long time, what is often not appreciated adequately is the extent to which the skills and wisdom of several traditional communities was advanced in matters relating to seeds conservation.

Dr. R.H.Richharia, former Director of the Central Rice Research Institute of India, was among those few senior scientists who understood this, lived closely and inter-acted with communities in very remote villages, Adivasi communities and it was this intimate engagement that enabled him to develop an understanding of seed conservation strengths of rural and tribal communities. It was this people-based and community-based work of this senior scientist and his colleagues which led him to prepare a great compilation of over 17,000 cultivars of rice grown in India.

As he once told me, he was particularly impressed by the ability of Adivasi (tribal, indigenous) communities to remember and pass from generation to generation knowledge concerning the characteristics of hundreds of rice varieties and cultivars, the suitability of different varieties for various kinds of land, their water requirements or drought resistance, their different cooking qualities, their different aromas and even medicinal properties etc. Most of this rich knowledge was gathered in the context of farmers of Chhattisgarh region including Bastar where the tendency of most other experts has been to dismiss tribal communities as being very backward. However Dr. Richharia on the basis of his own deeper understanding was able to better appreciate the richness of the knowledge of tribal communities and he also encouraged his co-workers to do so, as I could also understand when I met some members of his team later.

Dr. Richharia, who was one of the earliest and youngest scientists from India to get a doctorate in Botany from Cambridge while studying in the middle of great resource constraints in Britain, told me that some farmers including women farmers were particularly well-skilled in this and took a very keen interest too. However as not all farmers could be expected to have equal skills and ability regarding this, some of the learnings were sought to be captured in the form of some rituals which could be more easily observed as a part of daily life by most community members and farmers.

While traditional skills of farming communities for seed conservation needed to be valued greatly and constantly strengthened and encouraged, unfortunately exactly the reverse has happened due to a number of adverse factors.

From the mid-1960s onwards the strategy of farm development based on new exotic green revolution varieties and seeds was based largely on uprooting the greater diversity of existing crop-varieties grown in time honoured systems of mixed farming and rotations on the basis of the accumulated wisdom and experience of many generations of farmers relating to local agro-ecological conditions.

While this sudden change was inherently wrong and harmful, the situation worsened further as powerful corporate interests, including multinational companies and the research institutes allied to them,   made seeds the main source of trying to forever increase their profits as well as their control over farming and food. Towards this end, it was these corporate interests that exerted pressure to realize the monster objective of patents and IPRs over life forms and plant varieties, as well as to promote highly harmful technologies that could facilitate this.

Hence what then started happening was that as crop and seed diversity began vanishing (or was made to vanish) from the fields of farmers, this traditional knowledge was being concentrated in the labs and gene banks controlled or accessed more readily by the big corporates who then used and stole the accumulated work of generations of farmers to release ‘their’ patented varieties, sometimes after manipulating them genetically to increase their control and monopoly over them. All this was sought to be promoted under the name of ‘science’ and ‘development’, with accolades and awards being distributed for this.

It took some time for communities to recover from this deception and shock. Once, Adivasi’s and indigenous peoples realized the extent of the harm being caused, they started assuming the responsibility of again strengthening their seed conservation efforts.

As the displacement of farm and seed diversity was far from complete particularly in the more remote villages, several communities could still take up the task of conserving seeds. These communities noted that some disruption and harm had been caused, and legal changes had also created problems, but if the farmers and their communities acted with increasing unity and wisdom to protect their seeds diversity and sovereignty, the diversity of seeds could be saved and protected on the fields of farmers.

Traditional knowledge re-applied, re-born

Hence, in recent years, we have seen several communities taking up the task of protecting seeds diversity and sovereignty with a renewed and increasing sense of urgency, in India and in many other countries. I was myself present at a recent such effort in the form of a seed festival organized by a voluntary organization Vaagdhara in parts of three states in Central India. The mostly young men and women members of this organisation mobilized themselves very enthusiastically to organise nearly 90 gatherings of tribal communities, in turn reaching out to people of about a thousand villages and hamlets. At these gatherings people of various villages assembled with their collections of various seeds which have become more difficult to find in recent times, so that these and/or the knowledge relating to these cold be shared with farmers of other villages. Visiting such gatherings, I could see that the villagers assembled here were so happy and enthused by this entire effort that they wanted such seed festivals to be organized very regularly. Women in particular were very enthusiastic participants.

This could not have been such a big success if earlier efforts had not been made to prepare a strong base for seed conservation as an integral and important part of the many-sided development efforts initiated in this region by Vaagdhara in recent years. This has helped to strengthen the earlier inclinations of these tribal communities for seed conservation, although some disruption had appeared earlier to disturb the continuity of this effort.

Earlier in the course of my work in the Himalayan region, particularly in villages of Garhwal, I could learn much from the efforts of Beej Bachao Aandolan (Save the Seeds Movement). The efforts of this movement led to much better appreciation of seed diversity saved on the farms on the basis of traditional mixed farming systems like ‘barahanaja’ ( growing 12 or more crops together on a small plot of land to ensure balanced nutrition and self-reliance in food).

Before this effort too root, some locally posted officials and even ‘scientists’ were speaking in terms of uprooting such excellent traditional systems declared to be backward by them, much in tune with the terrible trends of the ‘green revolution’. The Save the Seeds Movement helped to confront and change this highly distorted thinking. The movement organised several foot marches in which marchers went from one village to another, carrying with them those seeds which had been getting rare to find. They provided some of these seeds to those farmers in the visited villages who wanted them. At the same time they collected information on the seeds which had been preserved and saved in this village. In very joyful ways, a lot of information on diversity of traditional seeds was collected and in addition farmers could also exchange seeds. The valuable contributions made by women farmers were also highlighted in the course of these important initiatives.

Clearly there is need for many more such efforts as well as for protecting the seeds sovereignty of farmers, their rights to conserve, protect, grow and exchange their seeds without any obstructions being placed in this.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Saving Earth for Children, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071)   

The post June 5: World environment day & the increasing importance of seed conservation by farmers and rural communities appeared first on SabrangIndia.

These are questions which sometimes excite the passions of people on all sides. Politicians can inflame these feeling further. A statement that is very often made by many of them has been—I’ll not give even a drop of extra water to the other side.

Those who are asked to mediate and find workable solutions for settling the disputes are also often impacted by this rhetoric. They are more concerned with somehow finding a solution that will satisfy all sides or at least lead to a common meeting ground, even if this is at the cost of sacrificing significant aspects of protecting river ecology.

Politicians and pressure groups have shrill voices, however rivers and fish cannot speak in ways that would be heard by decision makers. Hence the side of protecting river ecology and river life often remains unrepresented at river talks. In the USA and some other countries sometimes indigenous communities have been coming forward to speak for protecting rivers and river-life including endangered species.

Technocrats who are often given important roles in taking decisions on river projects often do not have a great understanding of river ecology. They often take decisions in favor of excessive river water exploitation including diversion and long-distance transfer, regardless of adverse impacts on river ecology. They are supported in this by big business interests.

In the prevailing conditions of decision making two important aspects are likely to be neglected. Firstly, any river in the course of its natural flow and free flow also fulfils very important ecological functions. Secondly, while transfer of water over vast distances is often justified in the name of ending water scarcity of some areas, it is often forgotten that more ecologically protective, sustainable and less costly local solutions are also generally available.

Instead of constructing many big projects on a river and thereby impeding its free flow, causing several adverse social and ecological impacts, a much better alternative is to take up several small structures, bunds and afforestation projects to save as much rain water as possible at the local level, contributing to water security of various villages, helping to maintain water balance all around the year and reducing considerably the harm from floods as well as droughts. Time honored methods of water harvesting and conservation, based on specific conditions of various regions, are often available and highly creative efforts based on them have been giving very useful results at low cost in several places.

Technocrats supported by big construction companies sometimes tend to push back the scientifically established reality, well-recognized by common people, that free-flowing rivers provide many significant benefits and useful services to people and settlements all along their flow. Apart from supporting many species of fish and water life as well as river bank related biodiversity, free-flowing rivers provide irrigation water and water for many other uses to people and all forms of life. They contribute to maintaining proper groundwater levels over a vast stretch of land. They deposit fertile silt to support low-cost bountiful farming and animal husbandry. They support livelihoods related to growing several kinds of fruits and vegetables that grows best in river bank conditions, as well as livelihoods related to boats and fisheries. In the lower reaches while approaching the sea, they play a crucial role in stabilizing and supporting ecology and biodiversity of coastal areas, mangroves and deltas.

Once all this is recognised in much better ways it follows that river engineering in the form of dams, barrages and embankments by changing, depleting or restricting river flows in various ways can have adverse effects on all these beneficial roles of free-flowing rivers, apart from bringing several unintended new adverse impacts and risks.

While all these factors, whether recognized adequately or not, have always been significant, their importance has increased further in times of climate change which have introduced several more uncertainties and risks.

Hence long overdue changes relating to understanding of rivers and river-projects are needed, so that there can be much better planning for protecting rivers and utilizing their water for various beneficial purposes while minimizing adverse impacts and risks.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071)     

The post There should be more concern for protecting rivers than for just trying to get a higher share of their water appeared first on SabrangIndia.

These indigenous Adivasi communities have been known for long for their more self-reliant life patterns integrated closely with forests and their protection. However they suffered heavily during colonial rule in terms of introduction of new exploitative practices, assault on their life and livelihood patterns and the resource base which sustained it. Subsequently there were several revolts against colonial rule and its collaborators. Apart from some of the better-known struggles such as those led by the valiant BirsaMunda, there were several less known but also no less important struggles such as those led by Govind Guru among the Bhils and related tribal communities in Central India. The extent of repression by colonial forces and their close collaborators here was also very extreme, perhaps even more than some of the widely known events of extreme repression such as the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

In the post-independence period it was a well-recognised aspect of government policy that Adivasi communities constitute a particularly vulnerable group and special efforts for ensuring a fair deal to them should be made. This led to several development initiatives aimed particularly at benefiting these communities, while of course there are other schemes and programs open to all sections which benefit these communities as well.

There are reservations for scheduled tribes in jobs as well as in other aspects. Above all, there is recognition of their more autonomous path of development in keeping with their traditions and life-patterns, and a special law PESA (Panchayati Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas) has been enacted in recognition of this, also protecting the rights of tribal communities over resource bases in several ways.

However at the implementation level, the admirable aims of protecting Adivasi communities and their rights and interests could not be achieved to any desirable extent. In several areas these indigenous communities have been displaced on a very large scale or their life has been significantly disrupted by ecologically destructive projects. It is clear by now that several such distortions and mistakes need to be corrected.

This is all the more important in view of several fast emerging new factors that are re-emphasising the importance of strengthening these tribal communities and preserving and promoting sustainable livelihoods of such communities by integrating this task more closely with protection of environment. In this emergent thinking based on relatively new understanding, the progress of tribal communities is seen not in terms of individual beneficiaries, but in terms of a more holistic strengthening of tribal communities and their sustainable livelihoods in ways that are at the same time very helpful in reducing very serious environmental problems.

In recent years there has been increasing evidence-based recognition that a number of environmental problems led by but not confined to climate change are becoming serious enough to emerge as a survival crisis. In fact in the context of several vulnerable communities this survival crisis can already be seen. Along with climate change, related local problems of deforestation, changing land-use and resource use patterns including emergence of highly destructive ones, increasing water scarcity and threatened water sources are seen as parts of this survival crisis.

As a part of the sincere efforts for mobilising an adequate, credible, hope-giving and sustainable response to this emerging crisis, among more enlightened sections there is a refreshing trend to question the dominant development paradigm which has resulted in this deeply worrying crisis. This enlightened viewpoint argues that there is increasing need to give more importance to the alternative patterns of thinking and living (on that basis) which can give much greater hope for protection of environment. In this context the commitment and capability of several tribal communities to have a life-pattern integrated closely with forests and protection of forests has attracted much attention. On a deeper inquiry, several of these communities are found to be making much more careful and sustainable use of resources to meet their needs in ways which minimise waste and are more self-reliant in terms of satisfying needs on the basis of well-informed utilisation of local resources, including sustainable , protection-based, careful use of forests and other bio-diversity.

Hence it is increasingly realised that these communities, their life-pattern, world-view and thinking can contribute a lot to protection of environment. Despite there being increasing evidence of this, the bigger conservation projects even in the areas inhabited by such communities are often based on the displacement of these communities or on disrupting their life-pattern based on close integration with forests.This comes on top of other kinds of displacements and disruptions caused by various ‘development’, mining and other projects supported by powerful interests.

There is thus a clear need to bring suitable changes in the existing policy framework togive the highest importance to strengthening tribal communities and their sustainable livelihoods and integrating this task with a wider vision of protecting environment. This would be a great way forward for taking forward the welfare of tribal communities and at the same time achieving significant success in environment protection on a firm base with community involvement, the kind of success that would be welcomed and admired all over the world.

(The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071)  

The post Strengthening indigenous communities means protection of the environment  appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On April 28, the southern bench of NGT nullified a policy in place for the past five years whereby thermal power plants were allowed to change their “source of coal”, irrespective of ash content, calorific values or potential environmental hazards.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (“the ministry”) had issued the policy through a “office memorandum” dated November 11, 2020, without consultation with stakeholders or conducting scientific assessments. Setting aside the office memoranda, a division bench of the tribunal comprising judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati said:

“The MoEF&CC [the ministry] which is a regulatory body of the environment and ecology, instead of converting towards higher accountability it is drifting towards dilution in the name of reforms.”

The bench also rapped the ministry on its knuckles for effecting a policy change through an office memorandum which is merely an instrument to be used for administrative purposes.

“The OMs [office memoranda] in question are not legislative rules as they do not undergo the public consultation, stakeholder engagement or gazette publication in the same manner as that of the S.O or any statute. The OMs are issued without any scientific study or in fact assessment. The legal character of the OMs is administrative but their effect is legislative creating de facto exemptions from legal mandates. Such a shift in regulatory thresholds through OMs is inconsistent with the Principle of Legality and with well-established limits on delegated legislation,” the bench further said.

The petitioner in the case, highlighting the arbitrary nature of the policy change, had told the tribunal that “it indicates commercial interests prioritize over environmental protection” and that “it only reflects industrial facilitation approach rather than environmental regulation.”

The policy was among a series of reforms by the Modi government, brought quick on the heels of opening the coal sector for commercial mining by corporate entities. Experts had warned that such the reforms could have catastrophic consequences on local environment and livelihood of project-affected communities living in the vicinity of power plants. It was alleged that power projects would switch over to cheaper sources of coal, owing to higher quantity of ash content, without necessary environmental safeguards.

The opening of the coal sector for commercial mining has unlocked dozens of blocks, the reserves of which are of comparatively cheaper prices owing to higher ash content. Most domestic coal in India is known to have higher ash content than imported coal. As a result, quantity of fuel combusted for generation of one unit of electricity increases with usage of cheaper coal.

Though the office memorandum allowed power plants to change the fuel source without fresh environmental clearances, it prohibited establishment of additional ash ponds to store the commensurate increase in fly ash generated from the combustion of cheaper coal.

The new policy envisaged for “High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCSD) systems due to their ecological advantages including reduced ash pond size, lower water consumption and minimal environmental contamination from runoff water or dust dispersion”.

However, the tribunal observed that the ministry failed to take cognizance of the fact that increased coal usage and ash generation will directly impact the quantum of water consumed by thermal power plants. “Water required for cooling purposes increases on account of increased quantity of coal combustion, water consumed in ash handling system will increase greatly as more water is required for making the dust cooling higher quantity of ash into slurry to be transported through pipelines,” it said.

Twice during hearing of the case – as the tribunal has observed in its judgement – the ministry amended the notification to apparently portray that environmental safeguards were being taken care of in allowing industries to change the source of coal at will.

The NGT observed that permission to change fuel source without amendment of environmental clearance would tantamount to “submission of false information or suppression of information since the character of pollution as well as quantum of pollution load varies with the source of coal and combination of domestic and imported coal”.

The tribunal further noted that “shifting to domestic coal will result in higher loads of fly ash generation which can impact both air and water quality” while in case of imported coal (which has higher quantities of sulphur), emission of toxic sulphurous oxides “will increase which can affect the air quality and could also result in acid rains which can in turn impact water and soil qualities.”

When the above mentioned apprehensions were expressed during the arguments, the ministry brought an amendment to the office memorandum on December 6, 2023 capping the limits of blending domestic and imported coal for industries to avoid fresh environment impact assessment. The necessity of carrying out environment impact assessment was still ruled out in cases of switching over from “domestic coal to domestic coal” or from “imported coal to domestic coal with the same calorific value”.

The ministry amended the notification yet again on January 7, 2025 when it was asked by the tribunal to examine the technical aspects of the policy granting permission for change in coal source without environmental clearance.

In the latest amendment, the ministry made a reference to its own notification regarding fly ash utilisation deadlines for thermal power plants. Through a notification dated December 31, 2021 – among a series of guidelines issued over the past 27 years to tighten compliance obligations and timeline for ash disposal and reuse – the ministry has set clear deadlines for power plants to complete disposal of fly ash.

The ministry made it clear in the new amended office memorandum that the guidelines dated December 31, 2021 were to apply irrespective of change in coal source. It further made it mandatory for thermal power plants changing coal source to ensure that “loading, unloading, transport, storage and disposal of ash is done in an environmentally sound manner and that all precautions to prevent air and water pollution are taken and status in this regard shall be reported to the concerned State Pollution Control Board”.

However, the NGT noted that the thermal power sector continues to under-preform in ash utilisation taking cognizance of various reports of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India and the Central Pollution Control Board. “In the light of the above, the invocation of 2021 notification in the 2025 amendment appears performative, lacking real regulatory bit,” said the tribunal.

Apart from missing deadlines, thermal power projects have in the past also resorted to improper disposal of fly ash resulting in adverse impacts on environment and livelihoods of local communities. As per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which is India’s premier government body for policy formulation in the power sector:

“Indian Coal is of Low Grade with Ash Content of the order of 24 – 63 % in comparison to Imported Coal which has Low Ash Content of the order of 3 – 20 %. Large Quantity of Ash is, thus being generated at Coal / Lignite based Thermal Power Stations in the Country, which not only requires Large Area of precious Land for its disposal but is also one of the sources of Pollution of both Air and Water.”

The CEA’s fly ash utilisation report of March 2023 states that a mere 78.14% of total fly ash generated by all thermal power projects across the country during the first half of the financial year 2022-23 was properly utilised. This compares poorly with the corresponding figure for the first half of the previous financial year, which stood at 81.65%.

Experts have pointed out that arbitrary change to cheaper coal not only causes unforeseen pollution during combustion but also during transportation.

“The quality of coal and the route it takes to reach power plants after mining contribute significantly to air pollution and socio-economic impacts of a coal-based power plant. Any change in the coal source must be thoroughly evaluated by the competent committee vide the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. This will ensure a proper assessment of environmental and socio-economic impacts and help minimize incremental pollution, if the power plants seek a change in source for economic or logistical reasons,” Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst of Envirocatalysts, an independent organisation working on the crossroads of environment, climate change and livelihoods, told this correspondent.

The petitioner had argued that environmental clearance to a thermal power plant is granted based on a firm coal linkage and disclosure of the coal source and coal characteristics. “The impact of various aspects like air emissions, impact due to transport, storage, coal handling, water requirement, ash generation and storage, ash ponds and utilization etc. are assessed, and anticipated impact is forecasted. Only based on the above factors, a public hearing is conducted after which the project is appraised and the Environmental Clearnce is issued,” the petitioner had argued.

The court said that “integrity of environmental governance” cannot be undermined for the sake of “prioritizing ease of business and operational flexibility”. It said, that from the environmental stand point, the changes brought in through the office memoranda “can permit transition to coal sources that may in practice result in higher emission or other forms of pollution due to blending practices, differences in coal quality or operation inefficiencies, none of which are evaluated prior to the exemption taking effect.” It quashed the memoranda saying that those “do not offer any methodology for assessing or verifying pollution load differences before exempting the project from regulatory oversight”.

The writer is an independent journalist.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Modi Govt’s Coal Reform Policy Quashed Over Environmental Concerns appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Elaborating further, the statement says that, the Congress party in its manifesto for the 2024 elections reaffirmed its profound commitment to rapid, inclusive and sustainable development, and to protect its ecosystems, local communities, flora and fauna. It also said that it would address the issues of environment and climate change with the seriousness these deserve.  Hence the disturbing incidents at the Hyderabad Central University, viz. the clearing of over 100 acres of forested land in Kancha Gachibowli, using bulldozers, with the objective of using this land for IT buildings and activities are a violation of the party’s own poll promise.

Moreover, when students of Hyderabad University peacefully protested against the clearance of the forested land, the felling of the trees, and the use of bulldozers, the state government, instead of holding a dialogue with them to resolve the matter, sought to quell the protest by force, even resorting to arrests and lathi charges, records the statement. “We are relieved that the   government has now stepped back from its earlier stand but we are still concerned about a number of issues concerning this land.”

To clarify the deliberate confusion created by the state government on the issue of the land concerned not being forest land, the former civil servants iterate that there is considerable evidence that refutes this claim. The contra-indications are listed below:

• As per the Supreme Court order of 1996, in what is commonly known as the Godavarman case, all States were to constitute State Expert Committees (SEC) to identify all forests as per the dictionary meaning of the word, irrespective of ownership. The Andhra Pradesh Government (of which Telangana was a part in 1996) failed to constitute the SEC and therefore did not identify all forests as directed by the Supreme Court. They also failed to comply with subsequent Supreme Court orders on geo-referencing of forests.  The claim that the impugned land is not forest land has, therefore, no legal basis, being the outcome of non-compliance of the orders of the Supreme Court.

• When Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 it had no comprehensive data on forests; nor did the state take any steps to identify forests as per the Supreme Court’s orders.

• It may be noted that had the directions of the Supreme Court been followed, the land in question, Kancha Gachibowli, would very likely have been identified as forest as per the “dictionary meaning”, as well as per the land records, which called it a “wasteland” (which signifies grasslands, scrub forests etc.)

• In early 2025, the Supreme Court in WP 1164/23, again directed all states to identify and geo-reference all forests on the ground. While it was widely reported in the press that such a committee had been constituted in Telangana on March 15, 2025,  the government did not bother to wait either for the report of this committee or its acceptance by the Supreme Court, before declaring that the impugned area (Kancha Gachibowli) is not a forest. This shows disregard of the Supreme Court’s orders. We wonder what the purpose was of setting up a committee to identify all forests as per the Supreme Court’s directions, if such forests are destroyed without any concern for the legality, or the protests of citizens, or the biodiversity and wildlife of the area.

• We learn that this forested patch has reported many migratory birds, 220 species of other birds, deer, 700 species of plants, the critically endangered star tortoises, and the Hyderabad Tree Trunk spider- an endemic species found nowhere else in the world!

Thereafter, the statement records that, they are heartened by the fact that the Supreme Court while hearing this matter recently has, on April 16, 2025, reiterated its earlier orders regarding identification of all forests and has emphasised that the Court’s orders need to be strictly followed.

“Hyderabad is fortunate to have these 400 acres as part of the city landscape: it acts as a catchment area for trapping the rainfall, recharging the ground water which is used by nearby colonies and buildings; it moderates the “heat island “effect of the city- experts have opined that it lowers the ambient temperature by as much as 4 degrees Celsius; it functions as the city’s green lung, capturing pollution and greenhouse gases. It boggles the mind that these ecological and climatic benefits have been completely disregarded by the Telangana government in its disastrous push to denude the area of its green cover, precisely at a time when there is unanimous consensus among scientists and climatologists about increasing heat waves and water shortages. The government should listen to at least the experts, if not to the citizens and students. Development at such a huge cost to the natural environment, when alternatives for the IT Park are available, is nothing less than ecocide.”

The collective of retired civil servants, Constitutional Conduct Group, have worked both with the Central and State governments. They have come together as the Constitutional Conduct Group to speak out against violations of the Indian Constitution.

Thereafter the statement records that while the CCG appreciates the fact that the Telangana government has now withdrawn from confrontation in this matter and is trying to find an acceptable solution, we are alarmed to learn that Rs. 10000 crore has been taken from private parties against that land. It is equally worrisome that instead of promising that this area would be allowed to regenerate as a forest and become a green lung for the city and a haven for its wildlife and biodiversity, there are media reports that indicate that Government wants to convert the whole land, including the land of the University into an eco-park.  An eco-park is not a forest; it is a human-centric “developmental” activity, and not in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement. The State should instead ensure that the Expert Committee implements the Supreme Court orders of 19/02/24 and 04/03/25 in “letter and spirit”. It should, thereafter, protect all its identified forests to ensure ecosystem services for human sustenance and the well-being of its biodiversity.

The Congress Party has been advocating the concepts of accountability, stake holder consultation and good governance in other parts of the country. The opportunity available in the State of Telangana to show a difference is unfortunately getting lost because of actions such as those at Kancha Gachibowli. The CCG hopes that the proposed auction or allotment of this land to private parties is cancelled and that the Expert Committee is allowed to diligently identify and geo-reference all forests, and allow forests to regenerate on all forest lands where felling has taken place.

“While the issue of Kancha Gachibowli got intense media attention because it is in a metropolitan city, adjoining a university, and due to the mass protests of students, such large-scale felling and wanton destruction of forests, biodiversity and wildlife is a recurring feature in almost all States under almost every political and bureaucratic dispensation. Such activity massively impacts the ecological security of our country.  State and UT governments must take active steps to protect all common property resources, because action is needed in every part of the country. Our fervent appeal to all governments is to ensure that our forests and biodiversity across the country are protected and not diverted in the name of “development”.”

There are 67 signatories to this statement of the Constitutional Conduct Group as below:

^Related:

Mass Deforestation, Protests, Detentions: Supreme Court halts Telangana’s reckless tree felling at Kancha Gachibowli, questions permissions

Adivasi Land Rights Erosion: The effects of the 2023 Forest Conservation Amendment Act

Record number of forest diversion took place in 2023 amidst decline in spend of CAMPA funds, MoEF data reveals

The post Destruction of forest in Kancha Gachibowli, Telangana violation of Congress party manifesto: CCG Statement appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Protests at the main gate of #UniversityOfHyderabad… targetting @TelanganaCMO @revanth_anumula @RahulGandhi over decision of #TGIIC Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation to auction 400 acres of #KanchaGachibowli; the sloganeering, energy, visuals tell their own story pic.twitter.com/m74ykqhYjL

— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) April 1, 2025

Protesting students of #HCU have shared this video… they say this is of trucks moving in and out of the main gate , carrying the wood logs of trees that have been cut… Am told this was shot at 2 am … On @ndtv at 8 am, #exclusive footage of denuded #EastCampus @HydUniv pic.twitter.com/OxijZVdomB

— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) April 3, 2025

Videos shared by #HCU students with @ndtv, with time & location watermark, to show that JCBs continued to do work of clearing the #KancheGachibowli land parcel despite stay orders from #TelanganaHC to stop vegetation removing activity till court disposes petition to be heard tmrw pic.twitter.com/ZTBmnFIQQM

— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) April 2, 2025

pic.twitter.com/6zSf2fi0QH

— Tribal Army (@TribalArmy) April 3, 2025

The Telangana government’s handling of the situation has been marked by opacity, brute force, and suppression of dissent. Despite the Hyderabad Central University’s historical claim over the land and the petitions pending to be heard by Constitutional Courts, the Congress-led administration bulldozed ahead with its plans, using police to clamp down on protests. Students and environmental activists were detained for attempting to join the agitation, while the government dismissed the outcry as “misinformation” and “political opportunism.” Meanwhile, the opposition BRS, led by K.T. Rama Rao, has accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s administration of hypocrisy, recalling Congress’s past stance on Aarey forest in Mumbai. Yet, even Congress’s student wing, NSUI, has taken a cautious approach, criticising the government’s failure to secure the land while stopping short of outright opposition.

The administration’s justifications—promises of Rs 50,000 crore in investments and five lakh jobs—fail to address the reckless environmental destruction underway. Officials insist that the land is not classified as forest, yet the Supreme Court’s observations suggest otherwise, raising concerns about procedural violations and potential contempt of court. The government’s relentless push for rapid development, without transparency or public consultation, has turned the issue into a flashpoint of governance failure. Now, with the highest court stepping in, the Telangana government finds itself cornered—forced to defend its actions in what has become a battle between unchecked urbanisation and judicial oversight.

Supreme Court proceedings on Kancha Gachibowli tree felling on April 3, 2025

Post-Lunch Developments: Expressing shock over the large-scale deforestation in the Kancha Gachibowli area of Hyderabad, the Supreme Court issued an immediate order halting all development activities in the region. The bench, comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih, took suo-moto cognisance of the matter on the same day and directed that no activity, except measures to protect the remaining trees, should take place until further notice.

The court strongly emphasised compliance, warning that any violation of its directive would lead to the personal liability of the Chief Secretary of Telangana. To ensure transparency, the bench ordered the Chief Secretary to submit a detailed affidavit addressing the following concerns:

1. What was the compelling urgency that necessitated the developmental activities, including large-scale tree removal, in the disputed area?
2. Did the state government obtain the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certification before commencing the project?
3. Were the requisite permissions from forest authorities or any other relevant local bodies obtained before felling the trees?
4. What was the rationale behind including specific officers in the committee constituted by the Telangana government, particularly those who seemingly have no role in identifying forest areas?
5. What is the state government’s plan for the felled trees?

Earlier in the day, the court had passed an interim order staying further tree felling and directed the Telangana High Court’s Registrar (Judicial) to conduct an on-site inspection and submit a report by 3:30 PM. When the case was resumed at 3:45 PM, the Supreme Court reviewed the report and found it to be deeply alarming. The inspection revealed that large-scale deforestation was underway, with heavy machinery such as JCBs being used to clear hundreds of acres. The court also noted images showing peacocks and deer fleeing from the destruction, suggesting that the area was an active habitat for wildlife.

Referring to its previous orders in the Ashok Kumar Sharma, IFS (Retd) & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors case, the court emphasised on its March 4 directive that held state Chief Secretaries personally accountable for the failure to constitute statutory committees tasked with identifying forest lands. It also cited its February 3 order in the same case, which prohibited states from reducing forest cover without providing compensatory afforestation land. The court was particularly critical of the Telangana government’s actions, questioning why the deforestation was carried out with such urgency when the statutory process to determine forest land status had not even begun.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, representing the State of Telangana, argued before the Supreme Court that the disputed land did not fall under the category of forest. However, the bench remained unconvinced. Justice B.R. Gavai pointedly questioned whether the government had obtained the necessary permissions for tree felling, emphasising that the classification of the land was secondary to the legal requirements for environmental clearances.

“Forest or not, did you secure the requisite approvals before cutting down the trees?” Justice Gavai asked, as per a report in LiveLaw, expressing dismay over the rapid deforestation. “Clearing 100 acres in just two to three days is alarming… We must remind you of a simple principle—no matter how powerful, no one is above the law.”

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing on behalf of certain intervenors, informed the bench that students protesting the destruction were being detained, highlighting the Telangana government’s heavy-handed approach in suppressing opposition to the project.

Morning proceedings and initial stay order: In the morning session, the Supreme Court had issued an interim order staying the tree-felling activities in Kancha Gachibowli, acting on an urgent oral mention by Senior Advocate K. Paremeshwar, the amicus curiae in the broader forest conservation case (TN Godavarman matter).

The bench took cognisance of media reports highlighting rapid deforestation over the extended weekend, suggesting that authorities had deliberately accelerated the process to avoid public scrutiny. The reports further indicated that the forest area housed at least eight species of scheduled wildlife. Concerned by these developments, the court ordered an immediate site inspection by the Telangana High Court’s Registrar (Judicial), directing that an interim report be submitted by 3:30 PM on the same day.

The directive was communicated to the Telangana High Court’s Registrar (Judicial) by the Supreme Court’s Registrar (Judicial) to ensure prompt compliance. Additionally, the court instructed the Chief Secretary of Telangana to prevent any further tree felling until further orders were issued.

As per Live Law, the order was dictated as follows:

“News reports indicate extensive deforestation is taking place in the Kancha Gachibowli forest. A vast number of trees are reportedly being felled, and it appears that authorities have taken advantage of the long weekend to expedite the destruction. Reports also suggest that the area is home to multiple scheduled wildlife species. We direct the Registrar (Judicial) of the Telangana High Court to conduct an immediate site visit and submit an interim report by 3:30 PM today. The Registrar (Judicial) of this court is directed to communicate this order forthwith. Furthermore, the Chief Secretary of Telangana shall ensure that no further tree felling is permitted in Kancha Gachibowli until this court issues further directions.”

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Telangana government, informed the court that the Telangana High Court was also hearing a related matter. In response, the Supreme Court clarified that while it was taking suo-moto cognisance of the issue, it had not placed any restrictions on the proceedings before the High Court.

The Supreme Court’s strong intervention signals its deep concern over environmental degradation and the failure of state authorities to adhere to legal and procedural safeguards before undertaking large-scale deforestation. The matter is expected to be closely monitored in the coming days.

Telangana High Court proceedings on Kancha Gachibowli forest case

Hearing on April 3, 2025: On Thursday, the Telangana High Court extended its interim order directing a status quo concerning the large-scale felling of trees in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area, located near the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) campus. The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara, also granted the State government time until April 7, 2025 to submit its counter affidavit in the matter. The court’s intervention followed an earlier directive issued on April 2, wherein it had explicitly restrained the State from taking any coercive steps until further deliberations. During the said hearing, the court was informed that the Supreme Court had also taken cognisance of the matter earlier in the day and had required for a site inspection to take place.

Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Telangana government, argued that the Supreme Court’s directive requiring a site inspection should not be misinterpreted as a restriction on the High Court’s jurisdiction to proceed with the case. He contended that the land in question had been subject to litigation for decades, yet no claims or legal documents had ever categorised it as a forest. According to him, the absence of such claims over the last 30 years underscored that the area was never formally recognised as forest land. Singhvi further claimed that several institutions in the vicinity, including a botanical garden and a golf course, demonstrated the region’s long-standing allocation for non-forest purposes. He insisted that the land had been assigned to a private entity nearly 20 years ago, and the State’s actions were in line with established policies.

In response, Senior Advocate S. Niranjan Reddy, appearing for the Vata Foundation, strongly refuted the State’s assertions. He informed the court that despite the Supreme Court’s order staying tree felling, the destruction had continued until Thursday morning. Reddy submitted an interim application (IA) containing newspaper reports and timestamped photographic evidence substantiating his claim. Additionally, he alerted the court to alleged police repression, revealing that a student who had been documenting the tree felling through video recordings was detained at a local police station. Reddy emphasised that the petitioners were now shielded by the Supreme Court’s intervention but urged the High Court to scrutinise the State’s conduct in its upcoming hearing on April 7.

Another counsel representing a student union underscored the alarming pattern of police atrocities against students peacefully protesting the destruction. He further argued that the land in question belonged to the University of Hyderabad, strengthening the case against its allocation for commercial IT development. Acknowledging these submissions, the High Court directed the State’s legal representatives to formally respond to these serious allegations and scheduled the matter for further hearing on April 7.

The High Court’s order summarised the joint submission made by Senior Advocate Singhvi and the Advocate General, wherein they requested that the matter be heard on April 7 to allow the State sufficient time to file a counter affidavit. The court recorded that the petitioners had no objection to this timeline, provided that the interim relief against tree felling remained in place. Senior Advocate Niranjan Reddy reiterated that since the Supreme Court had already imposed a stay, the High Court should simply proceed with the scheduled hearing on April 7. The court accepted these arguments and directed the State to file its response to all interim applications submitted by the petitioners.

Hearing on April 2, 2025: On Wednesday, the Telangana High Court had imposed a temporary stay on the felling of trees in the disputed Kancha Gachibowli land. The matter was heard following an urgent plea against the Telangana government’s issuance of a Government Order (GO) that sought to alienate 400 acres of green cover for the development of IT infrastructure.

The matter arose from a petition filed by the environmental non-profit Vata Foundation, which challenged a contentious government order facilitating the alienation of 400 acres of green land in the region for IT infrastructure development. The petitioners argued that the GO violated the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and demanded that all government actions undertaken pursuant to the order be annulled. They further urged the court to designate the land as a ‘National Park.’ Additionally, the court heard a similar Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by retired scientist Kalapala Babu Rao, who sought equivalent relief.

Between 28/03/25 to 02/04/25.. just 3 – 4 days… lives of peaceful living beings has been turned upside down.. in its desperation.. while the court believed otherwise.. the Govt deploys dozens of heavy machinery to flatten a beautiful deemed forest land in #KanchaGachibowli..… pic.twitter.com/NR8Bf1Typj

— Vata Foundation (@vata_foundation) April 2, 2025

The Vata Foundation’s plea asserted that the land, which had remained untouched for centuries, was home to 237 bird species, spotted deer, wild boars, star tortoises, snakes, and ancient rock formations and lakes. The petitioners contended that the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), which acquired the land in 2012, issued the GO in 2024 intending to divert the land for commercial purposes. The rapid deforestation prompted the petitioners to approach the High Court, highlighting that the area also encompassed land belonging to the University of Hyderabad, which needed urgent protection.

The court had originally scheduled the matter for April 7 but was forced to intervene earlier after the petitioners reported that 40 JCB machines had been deployed for large-scale tree felling. Following urgent lunch motion requests, the High Court took up the matter on April 2 and imposed a stay.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate L. Ravichander, appearing for the petitioner Kalapala Babu Rao, highlighted the blatant disregard for judicial precedents by the Telangana government. He pointed out that the government’s actions flouted two crucial Supreme Court judgments—T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Ashok Kumar Sharma v. Union of India & Others—which mandated the identification and preservation of forests, including areas not officially designated as such but qualifying under the dictionary definition. He further argued that the region’s unique rock formations, estimated to be nearly 2 billion years old, harboured rare flora and exotic bird species that warranted urgent protection.

Conversely, the State’s Advocate General A. Sudharshan Reddy dismissed the petitioners’ case as being based solely on “Google images” rather than official records. He argued that the government held clear revenue records indicating that the land had always been designated for industrial use. Attempting to trivialise the issue, he remarked that if the presence of peacocks, mongooses, and snakes were to determine forest status, then large parts of Hyderabad, including the city’s golf course, should also be declared forests. The High Court, however, refused to accept this line of reasoning and reiterated the need for a thorough examination of the matter.

Union government’s intervention

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change officially intervened in the contentious clearing of 400 acres of forest land in Kancha Gachibowli, Hyderabad, which has been earmarked for auction by the Telangana government. Expressing serious concern over the alleged large-scale deforestation and environmental damage, the ministry has demanded an immediate factual report from the State government regarding the ongoing developments on April 2, 2025.

In a formal communication addressed to the Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) of Telangana on Wednesday, Assistant Inspector General of Forests S. Sundar stated that the ministry had been alerted to reports of “illegal felling and removal of vegetation” in the Kancha Gachibowli area. The Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TGIIC), the entity responsible for the land’s auction, was identified as carrying out these activities. The letter noted that widespread news coverage in both print and digital media had highlighted concerns over ecological destruction, particularly regarding harm to the region’s wildlife, water bodies, and distinctive rock formations.

Further amplifying the gravity of the situation, the letter revealed that the Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, had received multiple representations from Members of Parliament and various public representatives, urging immediate action to prevent irreversible environmental damage.

In light of these alarming concerns, the ministry directed the Telangana government to submit a detailed factual report on the matter without delay. Additionally, the State was instructed to initiate legal proceedings as per the relevant statutes, including the Indian Forest Act, the Wildlife Protection Act, and the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, among other applicable laws. The letter also stressed the necessity of ensuring strict adherence to judicial directives issued by courts and tribunals concerning forest conservation and land protection.

Reacting to the Union’s intervention, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy publicly expressed his gratitude to Bhupender Yadav for taking decisive action in the matter. Reddy emphasised that the Union’s response was a crucial step towards ensuring governmental accountability, preventing further environmental degradation, and safeguarding the region’s green cover. He further remarked that the intervention would help ensure that all actions related to the disputed land remain within legal boundaries and undergo the necessary scrutiny through proper consultation processes.

Environmental devastation and rising concerns

Student groups and environmental activists have warned that the destruction of the Kancha Gachibowli Forest will have dire ecological consequences. Researcher Arun Vasireddy, in a report on the area’s environmental significance, highlighted that deforestation in Kancha Gachibowli Forest could lead to a rise in local temperatures by 1 to 4 degrees Celsius, worsening heat conditions in the Gachibowli region. As Hyderabad’s IT corridor continues to expand, activists argue that the loss of such a crucial green space will further degrade air quality, threaten biodiversity, and contribute to climate instability.

Despite mounting protests, the state government has shown little willingness to engage with environmental concerns, opting instead for heavy-handed police action against students and journalists alike.

Congress government’s crackdown on student protest at University of Hyderabad

The University of Hyderabad (UoH) has erupted in protest as students launched an indefinite boycott of classes, condemning the Telangana government’s decision to auction 400 acres of Kancha Gachibowli through the TGIIC for the development of an IT park. The protests gained momentum amid allegations of state overreach, police repression, and environmental destruction.

According to Akash Kumar, vice president of the UoH Students’ Union, students are being forcibly restricted within the campus premises by the police, preventing them from taking their protest to the streets. “The ongoing deforestation by TGIIC is leading to irreversible ecological damage. Kancha Gachibowli is home to diverse flora and fauna, and we demand an immediate halt to these reckless land-clearing activities. We have launched an indefinite strike today and will continue until the deforestation stops,” Kumar stated while conversing with reporters of The Hindustan Times. He further demanded the removal of the heavy police presence and the more than 50 earthmoving machines that have been systematically razing down the land.

Protesting students emphasised that Kancha Gachibowli is not merely an empty piece of land but an ecological hotspot that harbours over 734 plant species, 220 bird species, and vulnerable wildlife, including the Indian Star Tortoise. The land’s unique rock formations and lakes contribute to the biodiversity of the region, and its destruction for an IT park is seen as an act of environmental vandalism.

Despite widespread public outrage, TGIIC has persisted with the clearing activities since Sunday. The Telangana police, on the other hand, attempted to whitewash their role by releasing a statement on Monday denying the use of force. According to their version, students were not subjected to lathi charges but had instead “attacked officials and workers with sticks and stones.” On Monday and Tuesday, the state police detained 55 students in what has been described as a preventive measure, later releasing 53 of them. However, as per Telangana Today, two students—B. Rohit Kumar and Erram Naveen Kumar—were arrested and remanded to judicial custody, having been booked under multiple sections related to criminal trespassing and rioting.

Escalation of State Repression: Police brutality and arbitrary detentions

As protests entered their fourth consecutive day on April 2, 2025, the situation on campus turned increasingly tense. Students and faculty members, led by the University of Hyderabad Teachers’ Association and the Joint Action Committee, intensified their agitation, rallying inside the campus and condemning both the government’s actions and the university administration’s inaction. However, in a move reminiscent of authoritarian crackdowns on student movements, the state responded with force.

On Tuesday, police had resorted to lathi charges as demonstrators attempted to march towards the main gate. Several students sustained injuries as scuffles broke out at the East Campus, further fuelling resentment against the state’s heavy-handed tactics. Videos circulating on social media show police officers beating students and forcibly dragging them away, despite peaceful protest being a fundamental democratic right.

NSUI-HCU General Secretary Prabhakar Singh spoke to the media and lambasted the university administration for what he called “facilitating” police brutality. “The administration has completely failed us. They enabled the police to enter the campus and allowed JCB machines to continue their destruction. They have not even disclosed the details of the executive council meeting held on March 20, which would have clarified their stance on the land issue,” he said.

The demonstrations have united an unusual mix of political and student groups. Left-wing and Dalit-Bahujan student organisations, along with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP’s student wing, are all opposing the auction. Student unions from institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Osmania University have also extended their support. Meanwhile, the Congress’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), has taken a more neutral stance, criticising the university’s failure to protect the land while advocating for discussions on securing its ownership.

A Legacy of Encroachments: The larger struggle for campus land

For many within the university community, this battle is not just about the 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli but about a continued history of state encroachments on university land. Over the years, multiple projects have chipped away at the university’s territory, including the establishment of the IIIT campus, Gachibowli Stadium, a bus depot, a power station, a school, and even a shooting range. “The state has systematically grabbed land from the university for years. Now, this last remaining stretch, which we consider part of our campus, is also being taken away,” said a protesting student, as per the Hindustan Times.

The faculty and students fear that if this land is lost, the university’s expansion will be severely hampered, undermining its status as an Institution of Eminence. More importantly, they stress that the encroachment of green spaces in favour of commercial ventures sets a dangerous precedent, where corporate interests are prioritised over public welfare and environmental sustainability.

While the Telangana government continues to claim sole ownership of the 400-acre land, its narrative has been met with stiff resistance. The state maintains that a survey conducted on July 19, 2024, in the presence of university officials, confirmed that the University of Hyderabad holds no legal claim to the land. However, the university administration has refuted these claims, stating that no such survey ever took place. The institution insists that it has been repeatedly requesting the state for proper demarcation, only to be ignored.

Regardless of the state’s legal claims, protesting students claim that the issue at hand is not mere ownership but environmental conservation and academic autonomy. The land is an irreplaceable green lung for Hyderabad’s IT corridor and must be preserved rather than handed over to corporate interests.

As the protests persist, students remain resolute in their demands: immediate withdrawal of police forces and bulldozers from the campus vicinity, a written assurance from the university administration that it will fight for the land’s legal registration under its name, and transparency in land-related documents and executive decisions.

Journalist detained amid crackdown on protest coverage

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao has strongly criticised the Congress-led Telangana government for allegedly detaining a journalist covering the ongoing student protests at the University of Hyderabad. KTR condemned the police action, describing it as an excessive use of state power to silence dissent. He accused the government of suppressing press freedom and stifling critical voices. “The draconian police overreach in Telangana is alarming! Journalists are being detained & dissenting voices arrested. This blatant suppression of free speech & expression is unacceptable. And Rahul Gandhi goes to town preaching about democracy and free speech The double standards is beyond sickening.,” he stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The draconian police overreach in Telangana is alarming!

Journalists are being detained & dissenting voices arrested.

This blatant suppression of free speech & expression is unacceptable.

And @RahulGandhi goes to town preaching about democracy and free speech

The double… https://t.co/tRDPyndwc2

— KTR (@KTRBRS) March 30, 2025

The detained journalist, identified as Sumit, was documenting the arrests of students protesting the destruction of greenery on the university campus. He later posted a video on social media showing his detention by the police, sparking outrage among press freedom advocates. BRS spokesperson Krishank also slammed the Congress government, arguing that arresting a journalist for doing their job was an attack on the fundamental role of the media in a democracy.

Political opposition intensifies

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao has called on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to intervene in the ongoing land dispute at the University of Hyderabad. Citing Gandhi’s past opposition to the destruction of Mumbai’s Aarey forest, KTR questioned the Congress’s silence on deforestation in Telangana.

This is brazen green murder by destroying 400 acres of precious lung space in western Hyderabad

You can hear the peacocks crying for help as the bulldozers and JCBs of the Congress Govt rummage

If you don’t speak up now, it’s on you Mr @RahulGandhi #SaveHCUBioDiversity pic.twitter.com/iPxnhSgAdv

— KTR (@KTRBRS) March 31, 2025

Amidst growing tensions, Telangana police on April 1 had detained several BJP leaders, including MLAs Payal Shankar and Dhanpal Suryanarayana Gupta, as they attempted to join student protests at the university. The BJP has escalated the matter at the national level, with Telangana BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay, and BJP MPs meeting Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Delhi to seek his intervention.

KTR, in a series of posts on X, accused the Congress-led state government of suppressing student voices, harming the environment, and even displacing wildlife. He alleged that police were preventing BRS leaders, including himself, from visiting the protest site. Drawing a comparison, he recalled how Rahul Gandhi was given full security and access when he visited Hyderabad Central University twice during K. Chandrashekar Rao’s tenure to support justice for Rohith Vemula. “Why this hypocrisy, Rahul Ji? What is your government trying to hide from the world?” KTR asked.

హైడ్రా, మూసీ పేరుతో ప్రజల ఇండ్లు – హెచ్‌సీయూలో పక్షుల గూళ్లు

నోరున్న జనంపైకి బుల్డోజర్ – నోరు లేని మూగజీవాల మీదకు బుల్డోజర్!

మూసీలో, హైడ్రాలో మూటల వేట – ఆఖరికి హెచ్‌సీయూలోనూ కాసుల వేట

పంటలు ఎండుతున్నాయి నీళ్లు లేవంటూ రైతుల గోస – అర్ధరాత్రి బుల్డోజర్ దెబ్బలకు వన్యప్రాణాల… pic.twitter.com/jvTFiO1hB4

— KTR (@KTRBRS) April 1, 2025

There have been no social media posts from senior Congress leaders regarding the issue. Leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Priyanka Gandhi have not made any public statements about the protests, arrests, detentions, or the deforestation.

Telangana government defends land auction and development plans

Despite the mounting opposition, the Telangana government is pushing ahead with its plans. Heavy machinery has been deployed to level the land, removing trees and shrubbery over the past few days. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has defended the project, arguing that developing the 400-acre site will spur economic growth, attract investments worth ₹50,000 crore, and generate five lakh jobs. He dismissed opposition leaders as “cunning foxes” attempting to obstruct progress.

On March 31, Telangana’s Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy had asserted that the state holds full legal ownership of the land. “We took possession of this land after winning legal battles in both the high court and the Supreme Court. Not a single inch belongs to Hyderabad Central University. Any attempt to dispute this is contempt of court,” he declared.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, an alumnus of the university, clarified that HCU had long assumed the land was under its jurisdiction. He explained that when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government allocated 400 acres to a private firm in the past, an alternative 397-acre plot in Gopanpally was provided to the university in exchange.

Accompanied by fellow HCU alumnus and IT Minister Sridhar Babu, Bhatti presented evidence of agreements signed between the university’s former registrar and state revenue officials. Sridhar Babu assured that the auction and development would not harm the ecosystem, including landmarks like Peacock Lake and Mushroom Rock, and that students would continue to have access to these sites.

The ministers also accused opposition parties, particularly the BRS, of spreading misinformation by using old images—such as pictures of a dead deer—to mislead students. TGIIC and Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) officials stated that revenue records confirm the 400-acre plot is not classified as forest land, countering BJP claims that it falls under a protected zone. Officials further revealed that a survey was conducted in July 2024 with the consent of the university registrar, and boundary demarcations were finalised in the presence of university and government officials.

Background: The 400-acre land dispute at Hyderabad University

The 400-acre land parcel at the centre of the controversy is part of the approximately 2,500 acres originally allocated to the University of Hyderabad (Hyderabad Central University) when it was established through an Act of Parliament in 1974. The undivided Andhra Pradesh government had granted this land, which was then a remote area about 20 km from Hyderabad’s city centre. Over the years, with the expansion of Hyderabad’s financial district, the land has become highly valuable, particularly due to the growth of the IT sector and corporate developments.

Located in survey number 25 of Kanche Gachibowli village, Serilingampally mandal, Ranga Reddy district, the land is now surrounded by key institutions, including the university, the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), the Indian School of Business (ISB), and major technology campuses such as Microsoft.

In January 2004, following the successful hosting of the 2003 Afro-Asian Games at the nearby Gachibowli sports complex, the then Chandrababu Naidu-led government allotted these 400 acres to IMG Academies Bharat Private Limited for the development of sports facilities. However, the project never took off, leading to the cancellation of the allotment in November 2006 by Naidu’s successor, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The land was subsequently transferred to the state’s youth advancement, tourism, and culture department.

IMG challenged the cancellation in court, resulting in a prolonged legal battle that lasted nearly two decades. When the Revanth Reddy-led government came to power in December 2023, it pursued the case aggressively. In March 2024, the Telangana High Court ruled in favour of the state government. IMG then appealed to the Supreme Court, but the petition was dismissed in May 2024. Following the court’s decision, the Telangana government formally took possession of the land.

In June 2024, the TGIIC submitted a proposal to utilise the 400-acre plot for IT and commercial projects. Subsequently, on July 1, 2024, the revenue department officially transferred the land to TGIIC, paving the way for its auction and development.

Related:

Supreme Court slams Prayagraj demolitions, awards Rs. 10 lakh compensation to each six victims for violation of due process

Adivasi Land Rights Erosion: The effects of the 2023 Forest Conservation Amendment Act

Record number of forest diversion took place in 2023 amidst decline in spend of CAMPA funds, MoEF data reveals

With less than two weeks for polling, how concerned are national parties on land and forest rights for Adivasis?

The post Mass Deforestation, Protests, Detentions: Supreme Court halts Telangana’s reckless tree felling at Kancha Gachibowli, questions permissions appeared first on SabrangIndia.

With all the rainwater being lost quickly and even carrying away fertile soil, farm productivity around the village dropped to an all-time low, in fact very little could be grown in the rabi season devoid of monsoon rains. Some of the land even remained uncultivated. In this village located in Pichore block, water scarcity remained a constraint not just for farming but also for animal husbandry. Not just villagers and their animals, but wild life also suffered due to acute water scarcity.

Significant migrations resulted. All due to low development prospects in farm and animal husbandry-based livelihoods, people of this village, particularly those from poorer households, became heavily dependent on migrant labour. The work which most of the migrants from here obtained was both frequently exploitative and uncertain. However, due to lack of alternatives, villagers had to resort to this as a survival mechanism despite all the distress and difficulties they suffered.

Four years back something changed.

A number of water conservation steps were initiated in this village. These included the creation of bunds and digging of small ponds in fields and construction of a gabion structure to keep a good part of rainwater in the village. In the two nullahs which drain the rainwater, about 80 spots were selected in consultation with the local villagers for digging measured ditches called dohas which can help to keep rainwater for a much longer period for use by farmers and animals. All these steps helped to conserve rainwater at many places but in addition also increase the overall water level in the village and its wells so that it became possible to get more water more easily from wells and hand-pumps. Now farm animals as well as wild animals can find more water to drink even during dry months. Moisture conservation has resulted in the sprouting of more grass and related greenery, resulting in better grazing for animals.

At the same time, farm productivity has gone up. Now there is more cultivation of rabi crops like wheat. In addition, some of the land left more or less uncultivated earlier has also been brought under cultivation now. With soil erosion being checked too, soil quality is slowly getting better. Villagers have added further to this gain by gradually moving in the direction of natural farming, improving soil quality while also reducing their expenses. More efforts are being made to produce organic fertilizers locally on their farms in self-reliant ways.

Now, as a result of all this the inter-dependence, dependence on exploitative migrant labour has reduced considerably.

The situation in Umrikhurd village has also changed in a somewhat similar way, thanks to the digging of farm ponds and dohas as well as the creation of bunds in farms. An additional livelihood of pond fisheries has also emerged. As women related happily in a recent group discussion, now you can find water at several places where earlier it used to be dry by now. This has also been very helpful for them to take up new initiatives like orchards which would have been very difficult earlier. Hence one sees a situation of emerging new hope in this village.

Another important aspect of recent changes in these two villages has been that significant gains here have been made from the point of view of climate change mitigation as well as adaptation.

Several other villages in Shivpuri district have seen the kind of water conservation initiatives seen in these two villages. These initiatives in the two villages were taken up by SRIJAN voluntary organization with support from Axis Bank Foundation and IndusInd Bank.

Other villages where significant success from better natural resource management generally and water conservation in particular can be seen include Pipraunia (notable for helping tribal communities to reduce dependence on exploitative migrant labour), Mohar, Kakarva Tuhni and Bhyavan.

While the overall model of water conservation in these various villages is broadly similar, in terms of the kind of interventions planned and the methods followed, a key to success is that special or distinct local conditions get the due importance. What is really helpful is that participative methods are followed with the close involvement of communities. Within communities, more emphasis is given to establishing relations of trust with the relatively weaker and more vulnerable sections of society and in particular with the women of these families. A lot of attention is given to careful planning so that better results can be achieved with limited funds and resources.

Such remarkable success that has been achieved for making significant improvements within a short period of about four years with relatively modest economic investment testifies to the high relevance of the work taken up as well as the careful planning and implementation involved in this. The trust of the community is also evident from its willingness to contribute its share of voluntary work as well as some economic resources. These efforts are also living examples of the great importance of water conservation and the very significant contribution this can make to bring important relief to villagers and also to take them further on the path of sustainable development.

(The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, Protecting Earth for Children and A Day in 2071)

The post Steps Towards Sustainability: MP villages show how water conservation improves quality of life, and quickly appeared first on SabrangIndia.