Supreme Court asks Telangana for plan to restore Gachibowli forest

The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Telangana government for justifying tree felling across 100 acres of the 400-acre ecologically sensitive Kancha Gachibowli near the Hyderabad Central University in violation of environmental norms and warned the chief secretary and other top bureaucrats could face “temporary imprisonment” if the damage was not addressed through a restoration plan to be submitted in four weeks.

A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and Augustine George Masih ordered no further tree felling and the state’s wildlife warden to take immediate steps to protect the wildlife in the deforested area. It rejected the state’s argument that thousands of trees felled were under an exempted category and it did not require prior permission to cut them.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Telangana, said the state felled only trees classified as exempted species under the Telangana Water Land and Trees Act, 2002. He said as per the law, if any owner desires to fell the exempted species, a mere self-certification submitted before the forest divisional officer in a pre-prescribed format is adequate.

The bench said the court’s permission is required to fell trees even in private forests. It added that no bureaucratic rules or interpretations can override the Supreme Court’s 1996 judgment in the TN Godavarman case that said forest land as defined in the Forest Conservation Act’s Section 2 would include forests as understood in the dictionary sense and any area recorded as such in the government records.

“We are not bothered by anything else. We are only concerned with the damage to the environment. Any enactment or interpretation that falls foul of this Court’s December 12, 1996, order will not be tolerated. We were shocked to see visuals of animals running for shelter. We were told some were even attacked by stray dogs.”

The court said a credible plan for ecological restoration of the 100-acre forest patch was the only acceptable course. “If you want to save your chief secretary and senior bureaucrats from going to prison, show us how you will restore the land,” the bench said.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Union government, submitted that governments have come to court to seek permission to fell trees even for public interest development projects. “If the state wished to construct something, it should have taken permission.”

The court pointed to instances where the Union government approached it for the expansion of strategic roads in the hilly terrain of Uttarakhand for effective troop mobilisation to border areas. “In environmental matters, we are not going to tolerate violation of our orders. If there is any self-certification order that the state is relying upon, it will be a violation of our December 1996 order.”

The bench cited Constitution Article 142 that empowers the Supreme Court to do complete justice. “We will go out of the way if needed to protect [the] environment. Let them [state] satisfy how they overcame the 1996 order,” the bench said.

On April 3, the Supreme Court took up the issue suo motu and directed the Telangana government to immediately halt tree-felling and excavation activities in Kancha Gachibowli. The court directed the Telangana high court’s registrar (judicial) to conduct a site inspection and submit an interim report.

The court’s intervention came as media reports highlighted the large-scale clearing of green cover. The reports suggested that authorities took advantage of the long weekend in the first week of April to expedite deforestation, threatening the habitat of at least eight scheduled animal species.

Senior advocate K Parameshwar, who has been assisting the bench as amicus curiae in environmental matters, brought the issue to the court’s notice.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court questioned the hurry to fell trees over the long weekend. The state maintained there was no hurry as the process began in March 2024.

The court took note of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC)’s report that pointed out that the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) undertook development activities on 122 acres of the 400-acre disputed land despite its sensitive ecological character.

The CEC said heavy machinery was used to uproot over 1500 trees, out of which 1,399 were under the exempted category. It added photographic evidence that highlighted the area’s rich biodiversity was under threat. The CEC said the state registered a mortgage deed for the land with a private party for ₹10,000 crore on March 24, while the tree felling started on March 27.

The CEC found that a notified lake fell within the area that has been mortgaged. “The undue haste with which the clearing operations were undertaken by TGIIC, as observed during the site visit, appears to be a calculated move to pre-empt and undermine the process of identification of forest-like areas,” the CEC said.

The Telangana government has maintained that the 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli has never been classified as forest land. It said its status in revenue records is state government land.

The CEC report said that ownership of the land is disputed, citing historical records and multiple legal and administrative developments indicating it was originally vested with the University of Hyderabad under a conditional Memorandum of Understanding.

The Supreme Court, which will hear the matter next on May 15, directed the Telangana government to respond to the CEC report within four weeks. It asked the Telangana Wildlife Warden to examine and take immediate steps to “protect the wildlife affected due to deforestation in 100 acres.”