"Please Stop...": John Abraham Lends Muscle To Hyderabad Tree-Felling Protests

Throwing his weight behind the protests against the alleged cutting of trees in 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli near the Hyderabad Central University, actor John Abraham has urged Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to "scrap the plan".

The forest, the actor said, serves as a green lung for the city and clearing it would leave wildlife without a home. 

"Hon'ble CM @revanth_anumula Garu, request you to scrap the plan of clearing 400 acres of trees/forest in Kancha Gachibowli which serve as a green lung for the city & also habitat for numerous species of protected wildlife thriving inside it for decades. Clearing the trees will leave wildlife without a home and exacerbate man-wildlife conflict. Please stop this," the actor posted on X on Friday with a folded hands emoji. 

Hon'ble CM @revanth_anumula Garu, request you to scrap the plan of clearing 400 acres of trees/forest in Kancha Gachibowli which serve as a green lung for the city & also habitat for numerous species of protected wildlife thriving inside it for decades. Clearing the trees will…

— John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) April 4, 2025

On Friday, the Supreme Court noted that an interim report submitted by the Telangana High Court had painted an "alarming picture" of deforestation and indicated that a large number of trees had been felled in Kancha Ganchibowli. 

The bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih asked the Telangana chief secretary whether an environmental impact assessment certificate had been obtained before carrying out developmental activities and clearing trees in the area. The bench also asked what the "compelling urgency" was for such activities to be carried out. 

The Supreme Court ordered to Telangana government not to allow any activity on the land. 

The order, and a similar one by the Telangana High Court, followed protests by students of the Hyderabad Central University and others against the alleged felling of trees using bulldozers by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation. The students and the Vata Foundation had filed public interest litigation in the high court against the tree felling, arguing that the land is home to many species of animals and birds and should be declared a 'national park'.

The Telangana government has clarified that it has not taken even an inch of land belonging to the Hyderabad Central University and said the biodiversity of the campus would be protected. 

The land, it said, would be used to set up information technology (IT) companies to provide employment.