CM Directs Eco-Tourism Park Development on Forest Lands Within Bharat Future City

What was decided

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed officials to develop eco-tourism projects on Forest Department lands within Hyderabad's core urban limits and the proposed Bharat Future City, aiming to transform them into world-class tourism destinations, at a review meeting with Tourism Department officials. He said forest lands within the limits of Bharat Future City should be developed as international-level tourism destinations, suggesting they be developed as eco-parks similar to the Gurramguda Eco Park, inaugurated recently in Rangareddy district.

He also called for the creation of urban forest-style eco-tourism projects within the Core Urban Region (CURE) limits and directed the appointment of special officers to fast-track implementation. On the occasion, Revanth Reddy directed officials to create urban forest-style facilities and expedite the projects by appointing a dedicated special officer to oversee their implementation.

Who was in the room

The Chief Minister held the review meeting with officials of the Tourism department at the Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development (MCRHRD) institute in Jubilee Hills on Monday. Attendees included Chief Minister's Advisor Ramakrishna Rao, Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, CMO Principal Secretary Seshadri, Principal Secretary Sridhar, Tourism Secretary Vani Prasad and Tourism Corporation Managing Director Gautami.

The reference model: Gurramguda Eco Park

The directive explicitly names Gurramguda Eco Park in Rangareddy district as the template. Its recent history explains why: in December 2025 the Supreme Court declared 102 acres of land at Gurramguda as forest land, allowing a civil appeal filed by Telangana in the long-pending Sahebnagar Kalan (Gurramguda Reserve Forest) case and setting aside earlier orders of the forest settlement officer, the Rangareddy district court and the Telangana High Court. In March 2026, the state government notified 424 acres and 31 guntas of forest land in Gurramguda as Reserve Forest under Section 15 of the Telangana Forest Act, 1967, and decided to develop the area into a large Urban Forest Park. The CM inaugurated development works at the Gurramguda Reserve Forest costing Rs 17.84 crore.

Forest land inside the Bharat Future City zone

The directive applies to forest land that already sits inside the 30,000-acre FCDA core zone. Bharat Future City is planned with over 50 per cent green cover and a 15,000-acre reserve forest, intended to combine urban expansion with environmental planning. This includes a proposed 15,000-acre reserve forest adjoining the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, alongside a commitment to maintain over half of the project area as green cover.

Not everyone reads this framing the same way. One commentary argues that the government's own statements confirm that 15,000 acres within the FCDA zone consist of existing forest land, which promotional material has rebranded as 'green fingers' and an eco-tourism zone. It further notes that reserved forests are legally protected under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and any diversion for non-forest purposes requires prior Central Government approval.

Other decisions from the same meeting

• The Chief Minister instructed officials to make Taramati Baradari more attractive for visitors and develop Durgam Cheruvu into a full-fledged tourist destination.
• He also ordered the modernisation of the historic Manjeera and Dilkhusha guest houses in Hyderabad.
• Under the Tourism Hub Development Scheme, the Chief Minister instructed officials to develop Vikarabad as a key tourism destination, with special emphasis on the Sri Veerabhadraswami Temple.
• Reviewing the status of the Puranapul heritage bridge, he directed officials to develop the surrounding area into a tourist destination and suggested diverting traffic, if required, to facilitate tourist access.
• He instructed officials to begin preparations for the Global Investment Summit scheduled for December, directing the formation of high-level coordination committees involving multiple departments.

Practical effect for the FCDA area

This is a directive from a departmental review meeting, not a Gazette notification, Government Order or FCDA board resolution. As of July 2026, no acreage, budget, boundary map or timeline specific to a Bharat Future City eco-park has been published — the instruction sets the policy intent and assigns implementation (special officer, Tourism–Forest Department coordination) but leaves execution details to follow.

For context on the authority itself: the FCDA, established in March 2025, spans 765 sq km and covers 56 villages across Amangal, Ibrahimpatnam, Kadthal, Kandukur, Maheshwaram and Manchala mandals, of which 36 villages were earlier under HMDA and 20 under the Directorate of Town and Country Planning. The Chief Minister is the chairman of the FCDA, with the municipal administration minister as vice-chairman; IAS officer K. Shashanka has been appointed as first FCDA commissioner. Any eco-park inside the FCDA zone would need to move through this authority's planning and clearance process, which — per independent commentary — still requires environmental clearance and forest-diversion approvals for reserved forest parcels.