Siddapur village says no to Hyderabad’s waste, rises in protest

Siddapur, a village in Kothur mandal of Ranga Reddy district, is on war path against the solid waste processing facility approved in its 86 acres, designated as the treatment destination for the waste generated in the limits of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Protests had begun long before the government issued orders for the ‘Eco Town’ project — a euphemistic representation of the facility — early in July.

The news of Eco Town project, a solid waste mangement and waste-to-energy plant aimed at promoting circular economy, was broken by The Hindu on May 26, 2026. Objecting to the project, the villagers organised ‘Chalo Collectorate’ protests twice and submitted representations to the district collector, presented the issue before the Mahabubnagar MP D.K. Aruna, held ‘rasta roko’ on National Highway-44, and on August 11, staged a sit-in at the Tehsildar’s office together with opposition party leaders.

Promise of Industrial Park turns out to be waste-treatment plant

“Our lands were acquired in the name of an industrial park in 2021 by the then BRS government. Some allotments too were made to industries. But now we have reason to believe that the solid waste treatment facility will be extended to include all the land acquired. Already, we are hearing that the industries would be shifted elsewhere,” Sri Charan Chari, a B.Tech graduate from Siddapur said.

The proposal for an Industrial Park here was mooted way back in 2008, in 377 acres of land. However, it didn’t take off due to confusion related to the status of lands. After Telangana emerged as a separate State, the government revived the Industrial Park proposal, and decided to acquire a total 330.34 acre land from Siddapur, including government land. The villagers said 248 acre of land was acquired.

“Though the government is setting up the facility in 86 acres now, we are in no doubt that it would be extended to the remaining land too,” says Sri Charan.

No public hearing

There was no public hearing held before the Eco Tourism project since it is a ‘Blue Category’ industry. The Central Pollution Control Board, last year, introduced the ‘Blue Category’ for industries to define Essential Environmental Services such as solid waste management, sewage treatment, and also the Waste to Energy plants. Several concerns have already been raised about the WTE plants, as they are proven cause of severe air pollution at several locations.

“They are assuring that no pollution will be caused, and speaking of a solution for every issue. But we are not sure how effectively all those solutions would be implemented once the site is taken over. There is already one stone crushing unit nearby which rendered a large extent of our croplands useless,” said Yellaram Rajender Reddy, another villager.

The villagers are also concerned about the possibility of a drop in real estate values of the lands around the facility.

The current waste processing facility at Jawahar Nagar, which is causing severe air and water pollution in a radius of 10-15 kilometres around the dump is only aggravating the fears. A survey conducted by the local people revealed that a total 22 villages exist in 5 kilometre radius and 74 villages in 10 kilometre radius, prompting these villagers too join the protests.

“Not only that, the Himayat Sagar drinking water reservoir exists just 25 kilometres away, and water from our lake reaches the reservoir through the chain linked network,” says Mr. Reddy.

While the GHMC authorities claimed that no waste will be dumped at Siddapur, and instead it will be brought from Jawahar Nagar to be treated and land filled, the villagers who visited the GHMC office were told that the Jawahar Nagar facility would be shut down after the Eco Town takes off.