World Earth Day 2026: Telangana’s Chenchu adivasis resist forcible relocation from Amrabad Tiger Reserve

Members of the Chenchu tribe in Telangana’s Nallamala forests submitted petitions to the chief minister April 17, 2026 against the forest department’s coercive methods to relocate them from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Nagarkurnool district. Adivasis from Sarlapally, Vatwarlapally, Kollampenta, Rayuledupenta, Uppununtala and Kudichintalabayalu villages, along with activists, have also been writing to several central and state authorities to highlight their plight.

The Chenchu people are one of India’s oldest food gatherer tribes who have been inhabiting these forests for centuries. They are classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group and are almost entirely dependent on forest resources for survival. They possess a deep understanding of their ecosystem and have long been recognised for their cultural significance.

But since the introduction of ‘Project Tiger’, they have faced multiple relocation attempts, especially over the last seven years. But their close association with the forest makes it impossible for them to survive outside it. Their diet consists of wildfoods and while they own land, they are not farmers. Thus, they have refused the state’s compensation: A house and three acres of agricultural land or Rs 15 lakh in cash. “We do not want any money or land somewhere else. We will survive in the forest that has sustained us,” said Chiguru Nagamma of Kommanipenta.

They have been asking for the government to prioritise human-wildlife co-existence as preferred by the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 that insists relocation of tribals should be a last option.

But the tribe continues to be face attempts to relocate them against their will. In March 2026, senior ministers of Telangana handed them cheques at an official ceremony as part of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve ‘Relocation package’. The Chenchu adivasis have claimed this was not done with proper consultation and consent.

The Chenchu women and youth from Sarlapally, Vatwarlapally, Rayuledupenta, Kommanipenta, Uppununtala said Gram Sabhas have not been convened separately with PVTG Chenchus. Chenchus say they have not given consent and do not want to relocate outside the forest.

"As stated by the Chenchus, it is mainly the non-tribals some of whom do not even reside in these affected villages, who have given consent and not the local Chenchus," activist Bhanu Kalluri, director of Dhaatri Trust, who was present at a consultation of the Chenchu adivasi people with members of civil society, told Down To Earth.

The non-tribals moving away have always had land and properties in Amrabad, Acchampet or even in Hyderabad, said Kudumulla Mallesh (35) from Sarlapalli village. "They are also getting rehabilitation package now.”

It’s the women who are the strongest in their opposition to relocation, according to Kalluri. "Many of the Chenchu men were given petty jobs as forest watchers or guards and through them, the forest department pressures us for relocation," said Edamma from Rayuledupenta.

While the state government officials and politicians insist that the tribals will not be displaced from the forests without their permission, the ground reality is different. Kudumulla Tirupathaiah (33) from Sarlapalli village said the process is anything but voluntary. The forest department has stopped power supply to their village, denied them loans against lands given under the Forest Rights Act and stopped the Adivasis from taking up cultivation, Tirupathaiah added.

Another concern is that many of the proposed relocation sites are outside scheduled areas. “We will lose income from forest produce. On average we manage to earn Rs 15,000 per month in the months of June, July and August and Rs 5,000 in the months of March, April and May by selling honey. Not many of us are comfortable doing agriculture and rely on forest produce for survival,” said the tribal sarpanch who represented the Chenchu people from Sarlapalli. He is one of the 150 tribals asked to shift 100 kilometres away to Bacharam village in Kondapur mandal.

Some also complained that the proposed relocation area has no school. A resident from Kommanipenta village also claimed they were being threatened that if any animal is harmed, they will be held responsible.

"There is an imminent risk of land changing hands and getting mutated to non-tribals, given the vulnerability of Chenchus and the lack of land transfer regulations in the relocation site," said Kalluri.

Further, alcoholism is common among the Chenchu men who have very often lost land given to them under various projects by succumbing to alcohol. The women of the village fear that the same will happen now, she noted.

Around 2016, a uranium mining project was proposed in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, which also threatened the existence of the Chenchu tribe within the forest. In 2022, following protests, the project was shelved.