The widening project along the Chevella highway (NH-163) in Telangana has drawn unusually sharp public scrutiny. For years, frustration over the narrow, accident-prone stretch had fuelled demands to cut down the avenue of century-old banyans to make way for expansion. Activists have simultaneously pushed back, arguing that the historic trees were being unfairly blamed. And then, on November 3, just hours before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) delivered its order, an RTC bus crashed into a gravel-laden truck near Mirjaguda, killing 19 people — a tragedy that further intensified anger and renewed calls to remove the trees immediately.
But for now, the banyans will stand. The NGT has ordered a complete redesign of the highway so that most of the trees can be retained, and road work on NH-163 has been expedited following the tribunal’s directions.
What the NGT has ordered
The November 3 order directs the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to realign the widening plan and preserve the historic avenue. Of the 915 banyans along this stretch, 765 will remain untouched, 150 will be translocated within the Right of Way (ROW), and 58 have been marked “unfit” for relocation.
NHAI officials told TNM that the redesigned highway is expected to be completed by 2027. “For the four-way lane, we are expanding the road by preserving the trees. As per the realigned plan, we are allowing trees to be in the middle in some places, and on the edges in few places. Within one-and-a-half years, the project should be completed,” said P Nageswara Rao, NHAI project director (Project Implementation Unit - Kamareddy).
A dangerous, congested stretch
The anger residents express today is rooted in the daily reality of this road. Starting from Chevella town circle, NH-163 narrows abruptly. The banyans stand close to the edge of the six-metre-wide carriageway. The surface is battered, and there is no divider — a combination that residents of the region say leaves them vulnerable to head-on collisions.
According to official data, at least 280 deaths occurred on the Manneguda-Chevella stretch between 2018 and 2024. As Chevella is a peripheral town of Hyderabad in Rangareddy district, the road witnesses constant movement of vehicles going towards Vikarabad, Tandur, Kodangal among other areas.
While the road expansion has been expedited, the residents of Chevella bemoan that the order should have come earlier and the horrific bus accident could have possibly been averted.
“We had witnessed multiple accidents on this road. This is a dangerous stretch,” said E Venkataiah, a resident of Bastepur. “Crossing this road has become extremely risky due to the constant movement of cars and heavy vehicles.”
Another resident, Banjaraiah of Mirjaguda, added, “The road widening should be carried out immediately before another tragedy strikes. There is a lot of movement of heavy vehicles on this stretch. They drive rashly, unmindful of the lack of dividers on the road. People always want to overtake and end up causing accidents.”
How the banyans entered the fight
The banyans along this 46-km Hyderabad-Manneguda stretch were planted during the Nizam’s era, forming one of the last surviving tree avenues of its kind in Telangana. Over 900 banyan trees stand along the narrow six-metre road, providing shade and supporting the ecological habitat.
When NHAI proposed widening this stretch into a four-lane highway in 2018, its initial plan permitted the felling of 915 banyans and nearly 10,000 other trees. The move immediately alarmed environmentalists, prompting them to campaign against it.
In 2018, citizens’ group Nature Lovers of Hyderabad (NLH) launched the ‘Save the Banyans of Chevella’ campaign by documenting every tree, geotagging them, and filing a petition before the NGT. They argued that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) failed to acknowledge the ecological, heritage, and biodiversity values of the banyan avenue.
The trees support dozens of bird species, small mammals, orchids, epiphytes, and microhabitats, which would be lost if they were felled, they had argued. “These are the last remaining banyan trees along the highway in Telangana. These trees planted by the Nizams served a purpose. It was quite common to have such huge trees, which provided shade, earlier,” said NLH activist and petitioner Tejah Balantrapu.
The NGT’s November 3 order, essentially, marks the culmination of a six-year citizen-led campaign that fought to preserve the iconic trees that shape the landscape of Chevella.
What the redesigned expansion will involve
In its detailed directions, the NGT has ordered that the 150 identified banyan trees be moved only a short distance along the edge of the road within the ROW, which would increase their survival chances. Additionally, 415 other trees, identified jointly by the Tree Protection Committee and the Forest Department, will also be translocated.
The tribunal mandated that all translocation must follow the Tree Translocation Methodology previously submitted to the court. The process must be supervised by an Independent Monitoring Committee (IMC) consisting of officials from the Forest Department, the Botanical Survey of India, the Zoological Survey of India, the MoEF&CC, and two local citizens. An expert agency approved by the Telangana Forest Department must execute the translocation. Every translocated tree must be maintained for seven years, including watering, monitoring, and post-care support, the NGT said.
For trees that remain in place, the NGT said pruning should be minimal and only when required for safety or visibility. Interlocking branches between trees may be trimmed, but without damaging healthy growth.
According to the NGT, a citizen monitoring committee should be set up to supervise the protection of trees. At least two members engaged in tree preservation should be part of it, they said.