Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy officially launched the state-wide “Vanamahotsavam 2026” tree plantation drive on Thursday afternoon at the Gurramguda Eco Park in Rangareddy district.
The Chief Minister kicked off the green mission by planting a sacred Nagalingam sapling. He was accompanied by Forest and Environment Minister Konda Surekha and top forest officials.
The event marks the start of a massive environmental campaign with an ambitious target of planting 16.06 crore saplings across the state this season.
Various government departments are pooling resources for the project, with the Panchayat Raj department leading the effort to plant over 6.18 crore trees, followed by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) focusing on 4.50 crore saplings in urban zones.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy emphasized that this drive holds deep personal significance and is born out of past lessons. He recalled his visit to the very same Gurramguda region as an MP during the devastating Hyderabad floods of 2021, where he witnessed the public’s suffering firsthand.
The Chief Minister pointed out that years of uncontrolled land grabbing, encroachment of local lakes, and illegal occupation of forest patches had ruined the city’s natural drainage system, causing urban chaos during heavy rains.
The venue itself serves as a major victory for the state. The 102 acres of land at Gurramguda where the festival took place was recently recovered by the government after winning a major, decades-long legal battle against private encroachers in the Supreme Court. The administration has since protected and converted this reclaimed space into a massive urban forest park.
Alongside the central event, the Chief Minister virtually inaugurated several development projects worth ₹17.66 crores across 11 districts, including Nizamabad, Warangal, and Mahabubnagar.
These funds will be used to build new eco-parks, modernize local zoos, and improve wildlife conservation infrastructure. The government has directed local bodies to not only focus on planting trees but also ensure strict care and protection for every single sapling to permanently increase the state’s green cover.
