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The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Telangana government to develop a plan to restore the 100 acres of land in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area near the University of Hyderabad campus where it had felled trees, The Indian Express reported.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih also ordered a blanket status quo on the felling of trees in the 400-acre area in Hyderabad, Bar and Bench reported. The court said that it would examine how to expand the area under tree cover.
“Maybe we will widen it,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying. “Let there be green lungs in the city like in Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park, etc. We will go all out of the way for the protection of environment and ecology.”
The matter pertains to the 400-acre land in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area, which is home to several species of flora and fauna. The Congress government in the state had proposed to auction the land for the development of IT parks.
However, several groups had protested the decision.
Earlier this month, bulldozers began clearing trees and other vegetation in the area. Clashes broke out between the students of the University of Hyderabad and the police during the protests against the felling of trees.
On April 3, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and ordered a stop to all the tree-felling activities in the area.
It had directed the state’s chief secretary to file an affidavit explaining the “compelling urgency to to undertake the developmental activities including the removal of trees from the alleged forest area”.
The state government was also told to clarify if environmental impact assessment certification and other necessary permissions for the development activities had been sought from the forest department. The court asked for information about what the state planned to do with the felled trees.
It further directed the Central Empowered Committee to visit the site and submit a report by April 16, according to Bar and Bench. The committee submitted the report.
The committee was set up by the court to flag cases of official non-compliance with its orders related to environmental conservation. It reports to the Union environment ministry.
The interim order was passed by the court after advocate K Parameshwar, the amicus curiae in the forest cases matter, verbally informed the bench about the felling of the trees in the area.
The forest cases matter refers to legal challenges and Supreme Court rulings regarding the definition and protection of forests under the 1980 Forest Conservation Act.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Parameshwar alleged that the land had been “mortgaged to a private party”, Bar and Bench reported.
“The chief secretary is aware of it,” Bar and Bench quoted Parameshwar as having claimed. “This mortgage was created to secure non convertible bonds.”
In response, the court said that the focus of the case was about the felling of the trees and not the mortgage.
“We are only on how so many trees were chopped off without the permission of the state government,” the bench said. “We are only on dozens of bulldozers and forests of hundred acres being destroyed. If you wanted to do something you should have sought proper permissions.”
The bench also told the state government: “If you want [your] chief secretary to be saved from severe action, you have to come out with a plan as to how you would restore those 100 acres.”
Lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Telangana government, said that the report submitted by the Central Empowered Committee was voluminous and sought more time to respond to it.
The court listed the matter for hearing on May 15.
It also directed the state government to look into how wildlife in the area could be protected.
“In the meantime, we direct the wildlife warden of state of Telangana examine and take immediate steps needed to protect the wildlife affected due to deforestation in 100 acres,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying.
Also read: Telangana’s plan for ‘world’s largest eco-park’ at Kancha Gachibowli will be just as devastating
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