Telangana: Christians violate forest laws to build a Church in Bhadradri Kothagudem

Church planting is one of the declared objectives of global evangelical forces in Bharat. To achieve this task, they never hesitate to break the laws of the land. One such latest case emerged in the remote areas of Telangana, where a reserved forest area was encroached upon to construct a church at Chandrayya Gumpu hamlet of Sarapaka village of Burgampahad Mandal in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

According to locals, some innocent tribals of Chandrayya Gumpu were brainwashed by Christian missionary forces of the region in the recent past. Since then, with their help, these forces have started all sorts of missionary activities like street evangelism and Christian prayers and are now planning to build a massive church to expand and promote their evangelical activities in the tribal zone. The residents of the hamlet accuse that the church site is encroached on and falls under the prohibited forest region, for which appropriate permits are necessary from local government agencies.

They also allege that they face many challenges from forest officials while attempting to cultivate any site for agricultural purposes, but in this case, evidence indicating that these Christian forces influence forest officials is very suspicious.

Speaking with Organiser, a forest official of the Ashwapuram area, said, “The department received the complaint from the villagers on the encroachment of the reserved forest land and the construction of a religious structure, i.e Church church. They will inspect the area and take the necessary action against the culprits.”

An office bearer of Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) speaking to Organiser said, the construction of the Church is illegal as the identified site falls under the reserved forest category, and they expect the officer to investigate the case and dismantle the structure as they did in 2019. We came to know that a local forest officer is actively involved in supporting the construction of an illegal church and also collecting funds from innocent tribals in the nearby area.

LRPF in its complaint to forest officials, stated, “Large number of trees were cut down and land was used for illegal Church construction in the said area, which is a serious and punishable offence under section 20 of the Telangana Forest Act, 1967.

LFRP members also said, “The modus operandi of the Christian forces is a well-planned strategy. Initially, they trap the innocent tribals with various allurements and convert them to Christianity, then, using their connections, they reach the hamlet and spread their tentacles among the tribals, demoralising the local traditions and culture and promoting Christianity. Taking this as their successful act in reaching tribal areas, they connect foreign donors to obtain foreign funds via FCRA channels.

“Unaware of this nexus, converted Christians become scapegoats in this huge strategy. When confronted with this unlawful conduct, the powerful Christian network jumps into action by twisting and amplifying it as an attack on Christianity and a threat to religious freedom on the international stage, using an extensive global Christian network to blackmail the government and  agencies,” he added.

In 2019, LRFP claimed that, due to their complaint, the local forest officials dismantled the illegal under-construction mosque in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

Geographically, this region is heavily influenced by Maoists and left-wing extremism for the last 5 decades. In 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared Bhadradri Kothagudem district as one of the Naxal-affected regions in the country.

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Keeping in mind the sensitivity of this region, a resident of a nearby village said, authorities must take strict action against the illegal church construction where anti-social elements and urban naxals may misuse this kind of premises.”