Bollywood actress Richa Chadha has criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy for the alleged destruction of 400 acres of forest land in the state.

Following the forest clearance and auctioning of the biodiversity-rich land in Kancha Gachibowli, located on the campus of the University of Hyderabad, the students’ union launched an unrelenting protest on Tuesday.

Richa criticised the Telangana government’s handling of the protests and questioned Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the matter amid reports of police lathi charges and mass detentions of students who were protesting against the auctioning of the forest area, where bulldozers were allegedly sent.

Sharing a video of a student, who appeared to be dragged by the police towards a van, Chadha wrote, “Hey @RahulGandhi. Too much mohabbat. Have some mohabbat for nature also. @TelanganaCMO.”

Richa also called upon popular South Indian actors, including Ram Charan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Allu Arjun, to take a stand on the widespread protests sparked by the state’s actions, which allegedly involved bulldozers and earthmovers clearing thousands of trees overnight.

“Why was the forest cleared in the cover of darkness? Who operates in the cover of darkness? Thieves that’s who. #SaveKancheGachibowli. Would love to hear from the megastars of Hyderabad, please, urge you to pressure the leadership to stop this madness @AlwaysRamCharan @alluarjun @Samanthaprabhu2 @KChiruTweets @iamnagarjuna @TelanganaCMO,” the actress wrote.

Last Wednesday in the state Assembly, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy had announced that the Telangana government had reclaimed the 400-acre land in Kancha Gachibowli and handed it over to the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation to set up an IT park. Raising environmental concerns, the students claimed the construction plan threatened the forest's flora and fauna.

When asked how the mass clearance of the forest area could have an impact on the ecosystem and climate change, the actress said, “At a time when we are already experiencing unprecedented heat in the Indian subcontinent, when India already ranks 176/180 on the Environmental Index, to destroy a rich, bio-diverse forest and attempt to replace that with an IT hub is stuff of a dystopia nightmare. It is suicide en masse, it is ecocide. Transplanting saplings or trees is not the same as a forest that has grown over centuries.”

“As per the Government’s own Niti Ayog Data, we are going to face grave consequences of climate change in the next five years. Five years is not a lot of time. Ecology is what society depends on. As the climate crisis worsens we will be faced with societal collapse,” Richa told The Telegraph Online.

Actress Dia Mirza has also raised concern over the alleged destruction and clearance of 400 acres of forest land in Telangana, extending her support for the ongoing protests by the students around Kancha Gachibowli, who have boycotted classes until their demands are met.

“Students are raising their voices for a future where nature thrives. Forests, not IT parks, offer young people a chance at a sustainable tomorrow. ‘Development' at the cost of biodiversity is DESTRUCTION. Save Kancha Forest in Gachibowli, Hyderabad,” the actress wrote X.

Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu, too, has opposed the mass clearing of the Kancha Gachibowli by urging netizens to sign an online petition to halt the land auction decision taken by the Telangana government. The actress also shared videos and news reports on Instagram stories featuring the ongoing operations on the forest ground.

Earlier, actor Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee voiced their concern over the matter.