KTR brings Hyderabad’s green to global map

KT Rama Rao’s green story has a new chapter: he has been picked for the Green Leadership Award 2025, to be presented at the 9th NYC Green School Conference in New York on September 24. This nod recognises the urban-greening push that Hyderabad and Telangana have worn as a badge in recent years.

As municipal minister, KTR pushed a fast, visible programme of parks, “lung spaces” and street planting,work that officials say includes 977 GHMC parks, 108 lung spaces, rain gardens, vertical gardens and avenue plantations. Those projects made green areas easy to point to: pocket parks beside busy roads, themed play lawns and institutional plantings that showed up on city maps and in people’s daily walks.

Hyderabad’s global green credentials are already on record: the city was recognised under the Tree Cities of the World programme run by the FAO and the Arbor Day Foundation, a label that signals urban-tree commitments, not just slogans. That recognition, combined with awards and international mentions, helps explain why a New York-based body took notice.

But the story is not only applause. The headline claim that Telangana’s green cover rose from 24% to 33% during the previous government is disputed on technical and ground-logic grounds: independent reporting and environmental groups have flagged gaps in monitoring, questions over how “green cover” is measured, and worrying signs of forest loss and encroachment in parts of the state. So while planted parks and sapling drives are real and visible, wider ecological health needs verification beyond press releases.

What matters next is durability. Greening that looks good on a stage must survive monsoons, budget cycles and urban pressure. Practical steps: publish transparent, satellite-backed maps of tree cover; set up ring-fenced maintenance funds for parks; prioritise native species and groundwater-smart planting; and involve neighbourhood groups in tree care. GHMC’s Green Hyderabad initiatives offer a base, but long-term stewardship will decide whether the award is a milestone or a momentary headline.

In short: the New York award recognises striking, city-scale work,real and newsworthy,but the deeper test will be measured, local, and sustained care for trees and forests long after the cameras have left.