Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought explanation from the Telangana govt on the “compelling urgency” for clearing a large tree cover in Kancha Gachibowli area near University of Hyderabad, and stayed all activity, including tree felling, till further orders.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih took suo motu cognisance of the state’s tree-felling drive in Kancha Gachibowli after it was brought to its notice through media reports. The matter was brought to the apex court’s notice by senior advocate K Parameshwar, acting as amicus curiae in the TN Godavarman case on environmental issues.
The state govt had been clearing the land to develop an IT hub in the area.
The bench in the morning passed an order directing the Telangana High Court registrar to visit the site and file a report by 3:30 pm.
Reviewing the report in the afternoon session, the bench expressed strong disapproval of the Telangana govt’s actions.
“Where is the urgency? Were requisite permissions obtained from statutory authorities? Was an environmental impact assessment (EIA) conducted?” the bench questioned, citing findings from the registrar’s report.
“The report revealed that 100 acres had already been cleared, causing extensive damage to wildlife, including peacocks and deer, and threatening a nearby lake,” the bench said. The court was particularly critical of the state’s decision to deploy 100 JCBs and heavy machinery to clear the land in just a few days.
The bench also pointed out that Telangana had constituted an expert committee on March 15, following the apex court’s 2023 order in the Godavarman case, to protect forests. It questioned why the govt did not allow the committee to study the Kancha Gachibowli land before initiating clearance.
“Neither the Union nor the states can take any steps that reduce forests without ensuring compensatory afforestation,” the bench observed, warning that no one was above the law, no matter how powerful.
Taking a tough stance, the court ordered Telangana’s chief secretary to file an affidavit by April 16, answering: “Whether proper approvals were secured before clearing the land, whether an EIA was conducted and why the expert committee was bypassed.”
The bench warned that the chief secretary could face jail time for contempt if the court’s directives were violated. It also directed the central empowered committee on environmental issues to conduct an independent study of the deforestation and submit a report by April 16.
When informed that the Telangana HC was already hearing the matter, the top court asserted that it was now seized of the case and would take it forward. It further instructed its registry and the amicus curiae to draft a formal writ petition, making the chief secretary and other officials respondents.
With the apex court’s intervention, all work in Kancha Gachibowli now stands frozen, pending further judicial review.