Once a haven for flamingos and pelicans, Ameenpur Lake, India’s first biodiversity heritage site, stares at neglect; its waters have green with waste, its shores seized by concrete, and its birds long gone
All around lie boulders and small hills; green trees swaying gently under the sky, their branches hosting a myriad of birds whose calls once filled the air like an unending song. Amid this landscape, however, the encroachments have crept closer, pressing in upon the water.
A road now cuts straight through the heart of the lake. On the banks rise temples — Shirdi Sai Baba, Kattamaisamma — watching over the once-lucid waters now tinged a pale green by the effluents that flow in from nearby industries. This is the present-day fate of the Ameenpur Biodiversity Lake.
A 300-year-old reservoir
Located about 20 kilometers northwest of Hyderabad city, near the BHEL Township and Miyapur, the lake was a haven a decade ago, alive with birdsong. It now lies still; its vitality drained away. Historical records trace this lake back to the time of Ibrahim Qutb Shah (1550–1580 CE), during whose reign Abdul Qadir Ameen Khan, a nobleman from Patancheru, built it to irrigate his gardens.
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The gardens have long vanished, but the lake remains — though reduced, strangled by encroachments, to just 93 acres. Once crucial during the Nizam era, the lake sustained countless species of wildlife. Its surface area once spanned 0.38 square kilometers, with a maximum depth of 26 feet and an elevation of 1,740 feet. Over time, the lake evolved into a thriving ecological system, a biodiversity hotspot that drew species of eagles, owls, flamingoes, and many more.
India’s first biodiversity heritage lake
In November 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Government of India, declared Ameenpur Lake the country’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site, under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. It remains a site of both great ecological significance and cultural history.
In February 2014, a group called Hyderabad Birding Pals began organising bird walks at Ameenpur. Over 15 years, the group grew into one of India’s largest communities of bird lovers. But what once echoed with the cries and chatter of migratory flocks has turned into a stagnant pool of industrial pollution.
Historical records trace this lake back to the time of Ibrahim Qutb Shah (1550–1580 CE), during whose reign Abdul Qadir Ameen Khan, a nobleman from Patancheru, built it to irrigate his gardens.
Rajeev Khandelwal, the General Secretary of Hyderabad Birding Pals, notes with sorrow that photographs taken by wildlife enthusiasts a decade ago show a stark difference from today — the once-teeming waters now appear lifeless. Their own visual documentation confirms how urbanisation and industrial waste have stripped the lake of its biodiversity. Studies by environmental scientists have long noted the presence of fish species, butterflies, bats, and migratory birds. Today, their numbers are dwindling fast.
The present reality
Encroachments have choked Ameenpur’s expanse, shrinking both its area and its capacity to hold water. Satellite imagery reveals industrial effluents being released into the lake from chemical factories along its western edge. These pollutants have disrupted the food chain — fish, insects, and other aquatic organisms that sustained bird life are disappearing. “The water has turned green and is no longer potable for animals,” says Phani Krishna Ravi, a Hyderabad-based nature lover, speaking to Federal Telangana.
To restore the lake’s ecological balance, environmentalists argue for complete removal of polluted water and revival through natural recharging. “We must plant aquatic and terrestrial vegetation to restore greenery,” says Rajeev Khandelwal. “A protective buffer zone should be established, and government policies must actively support environmental restoration. Ameenpur can once again be a paradise for birds and wildlife.”
Encroachments closing in
Environmental activist Lubna Sarwath, from Hyderabad, calls Ameenpur a lake “that has lost its life.” Speaking to Federal Telangana, she warns that rampant encroachments have suffocated it. “The lake once supported a large population of fish, mosquitoes, birds, and bats. All have declined drastically due to encroachment and pollution. A road now runs right through the water. Its glory is gone.” Sarwath laments that despite multiple surveys and investigations by revenue departments, municipal authorities, NGOs, and even the courts, “no sustained effort has been made to protect this biodiversity.”
Satellite imagery from November 2021 showed clear signs of water spread and surface ripples, yet also revealed alarming construction near the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zones, where no building activity is legally allowed. Typically, the buffer zone extends 30 meters (100 feet) beyond the FTL — an area meant to remain untouched.
By February 2024, newer satellite images told a harsher story: the lake’s spread had shrunk, Shirdi Sai Baba Temple had risen on its edge, and hundreds of structures had been built near its embankment. Even a road was constructed through the lake, further reducing its water capacity. “The number of fish and migratory birds has dropped drastically,” Shivkumar Varma, founder of Hyderabad Voice of Nature Foundation, tells Federal Telangana.
Volunteers cleaning the lake
Over recent months, volunteers from the Earth Needs You foundation have been cleaning the lake every weekend — clearing mounds of plastic, bottles, and discarded liquor glass from the embankments. Vishwa Sustainable Society members joined in, removing waste and handing it over to GHMC. The CRPF had once adopted the lake but failed to halt the inflow of toxic wastewater.
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Plots near Ameenpur were submerged during heavy rains this year. Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) demolished illegal structures built within the FTL limits — including one near Navya Crossroads. Surveys found encroachments in Golden Key, Vani Nagar, HMT Swarnapuri, and Venkataramana Colony. Government lands in Kishtareddypet and Patel Guda had also been illegally occupied for construction.
National Green Tribunal investigation
In Kishtareddypet, survey number 164, HMDA demolished a three-storey building. In Patel Guda, 25 illegal houses built on government land were razed. Padmavati Nagar Layout had built compound walls and guard rooms inside the FTL and buffer zones — all now removed. Investigations revealed that even former MLA Katasani Ram Bhoopal Reddy had illegally occupied portions of the lake’s land.
Ameenpur once harboured over 220 resident and migratory bird species as of 2002.
The former MLA now faces inquiry by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Telangana State Biodiversity Board, following an affidavit he filed claiming ownership of surrounding hills and land. The NGT probe revealed that the lake’s 93 acres of water spread and 170 additional acres of buffer zone have been declared as a Biodiversity Heritage Site.
Encroachers masquerading as “flood victims’
A recent HMDA investigation uncovered that certain encroachers, posing as “flood victims,” had formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to extract money under false pretexts. “We are verifying lake boundaries using village records, Survey of India data, and NRSC satellite imagery to confirm the Full Tank Level,” said AV Ranganath, HMDA Commissioner, speaking to Federal Telangana.
Once, the skies over Ameenpur were dotted with flamingos, pelicans, cormorants, and kingfishers, their cries echoing across the green waters. Today, their numbers have fallen sharply due to water contamination. After ICRISAT, Ameenpur was the most frequented site for migratory birds in Hyderabad — now, it too is fading. The lake’s water, tainted by domestic sewage and industrial effluents, has turned an opaque green. The Telangana Pollution Control Board has failed to stop these inflows.
What birds once lived here?
Besides flamingos, egrets, herons, cormorants, kingfishers, and river terns, it hosted 8 mammal species, 166 bird species, 45 herpetofauna (12 amphibians, 34 reptiles), 9 fish species, and 143 invertebrates including beetles, butterflies, odonates, and arachnids. Ameenpur once harboured over 220 resident and migratory bird species as of 2002, says Harikrishna Adep, founder-president of Hyderabad Birding Pals. “Today, their numbers have drastically dropped,” he says.
“This lake once played a crucial role in maintaining Hyderabad’s ecological balance. Urbanisation and pollution have robbed it of its vitality. We must protect and pass it on to future generations,” he adds.
(This article was first published in The Federal Telangana)
