Vata Foundation

About Vata Foundation

Vata Foundation is a Hyderabad-based environmental non-profit organisation dedicated to conserving India’s trees, forests, and wildlife. Founded in 2015 by Uday Krishna, Jyothi Konda, and Sumesha Reddy, the organisation was originally registered as ASVATTHA Foundation and later renamed VATA — a name derived from the Sanskrit word for the banyan tree, one of India’s most iconic and ecologically significant trees. Based in Telangana, the foundation operates across multiple Indian states and is entirely volunteer-driven.

Tree Translocation and Relocation

Vata Foundation is best known in India for its pioneering work in tree translocation — the practice of moving fully grown trees out of the path of urban development rather than felling them. Since 2015, the foundation has successfully relocated over 5,000 fully grown trees across seven Indian states, achieving an impressive 85% survival rate. This is a technically complex and physically demanding process that requires cranes, specialised equipment, and expert horticultural knowledge. The foundation carries out each relocation with care and precision, ensuring that transplanted trees not only survive but continue to grow in their new locations.

The foundation works with urban local bodies, infrastructure developers, municipal corporations, and private landowners to identify trees that would otherwise be destroyed during road widening, construction, and other development activities. By proposing translocation as an alternative to cutting, Vata Foundation has established itself as a credible voice for environment conservation in India’s rapidly urbanising cities.

Forest Protection and Advocacy

Beyond urban trees, Vata Foundation engages communities, villages, and schools in the adoption and protection of forest patches. The foundation provides legal advice, digital mapping tools, and on-ground support to local groups who want to take shared custody of nearby forests. When forests face encroachment or illegal felling, Vata Foundation’s team files legal writs, submits forest data to government authorities, and demands accountability from the relevant bodies. Their approach combines grassroots community mobilisation with structured legal and policy advocacy.

The foundation also works with over 200 volunteers who contribute to plantation drives, monitoring exercises, and awareness campaigns. This volunteer network is one of the foundation’s greatest strengths — enabling Vata Foundation to maintain a wide geographic presence without a large paid workforce.

The Big Tree Quest

In 2024, Vata Foundation co-founder Uday Krishna embarked on an ambitious national documentation project called The Big Tree Quest. Over 40,000 kilometres, across 27 states, he travelled to find, photograph, and document India’s oldest surviving heritage trees — trees that are often hundreds of years old and carry deep ecological, cultural, and spiritual significance. More than 140 heritage trees have been catalogued through this initiative, creating an invaluable national record of India’s living arboreal heritage before these trees are lost to development, disease, or climate change.

This work is a form of documentary conservation — using storytelling, photography, and data to build public emotional connection with nature and generate support for tree protection policy at the national level.

Sapling Plantation and Community Programmes

Vata Foundation also runs sapling plantation programmes, working with schools, colleges, neighbourhood associations, and corporate CSR programmes to plant native tree species in urban and peri-urban areas. Native tree species are prioritised over ornamental exotics because they support local biodiversity, attract native pollinators and birds, and are better adapted to local climate conditions. The foundation’s community programmes create lasting environmental awareness — encouraging participants to monitor and care for the saplings they plant, building a sense of ownership over green spaces in their neighbourhoods.

Why Vata Foundation Belongs on Prakati

Vata Foundation’s work sits at the heart of what ecological sustainability means — protecting the living systems that regulate air quality, groundwater recharge, urban heat, and biodiversity. Their tree translocation work is innovative, their legal advocacy is principled, and their documentation of heritage trees is a gift to future generations. For individuals and organisations in Telangana and across India who want to support genuine, measurable environmental impact, Vata Foundation is one of the most credible and passionate organisations in the space.

To volunteer, adopt a tree, or support the foundation’s work, visit vatafoundation.org.