Rampant destruction of nature close to Durgam Cheruvu

A four-acre land in Jubilee Hills which is rich in biodiversity is being encroached upon by an agency to build food courts, entertainment centres and other structures

It is a small slice of heaven tucked to a corner amid the nerve racking, ear splitting chaos of the city life.

The four-acre land, contiguous to the Durgam Cheruvu Secret Lake Park in Jubilee Hills is full of vegetation and houses a variety of wildlife, including peacocks, snakes and porcupines.

“We would enjoy the greenery and nature inside the forested area on our morning walks, as there was no barricading between the park and the land then. Now, we cannot even look through the raised tin sheet walls, without being questioned,” shared Sharat Kumar (name changed), resident of Jubilee Hills and a regular walker at the park.

The reason manifests itself to any occasional visitor who manages to gain entry through means fair or foul. Large stumps of felled trees and logs piled on a side would greet the visitor, indicating an attempt to encroach upon the pristine environs.

The entire parcel was handed over to the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) as part of the project to develop Durgam Cheruvu area as a tourist destination. Later, part of the land was developed into a park with walking and cycling tracks by GHMC, together with the Raheja Group.

The remaining land was leased out by TSTDC to an agency which organised private events inside and collected rent. Access to the public was not restricted up to 2019, when the lease expired and the land was handed over to another agency for ‘tourism development’ which meant construction of food courts, entertainment centres and other such structures.

What started without anybody’s notice was destruction of nature in the name of development, as evidenced from felling and burning of large number of trees without any permission.