Revanth Reddy’s ‘no wildlife’ in Kancha Gachibowli comment negated by Supreme Court

The Chief Minister’s statement was proved wrong by the Registrar of the Telangana High Court

Hyderabad: A statement made on the floor of the Assembly is taken as a truthful one and more so when it is made by the Leader of the House. A retinue of officials would be ever ready in the officials’ box to pass on the verified information to the Chief Minister or the ministers concerned. That’s why words are carefully chosen by the ministers and the Chief Minister when they answer a question and any assurance given on the floor of the House is considered as an affirmative order from the government.

But when politics take precedence over Assembly business agenda, sometimes sparks do fly and acerbic political accusations and challenges are hurled between the treasury and opposition benches, often requiring the intervention of the Chair, sometimes expunging the remarks. But when a Chief Minister makes a comment on a current development during a discussion, one would expect a truthful statement.

---

However, the assertions of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, during the discussion on Kancha Gachibowli forest lands (March 26), raised eyebrows. Revanth Reddy made a blistering attack on the Opposition parties accusing them of spreading falsehoods, but his unequivocal statement that the land parcel in question did not have any wildlife was an extremely contentious one. He went on record saying “there are no deer, no tigers, but only a few ‘cunning foxes’ who were out to hinder the State’s development”.

However, his statement was to be proved wrong by no less an authority than the Registrar of the Telangana High Court. He was asked by the Supreme Court to visit Kancha Gachibowli and submit an interim report on the felling of trees. The Registrar said in his report: “The shrubs, bushes, small, medium sized tress are being felled for the past few days. Big boulders and rocks were removed with the help of machineries. Some peacocks, some deer and some birds are seen in the said area. Nearly 100 acres of the said area was destroyed. A lake is there beside the deforested area. Deer are seen beside the lake”. The High Court Registrar had also shared photographs of the deforestation activity taken up by the Telangana government.

Following this report, the Supreme Court observed that the Registrar’s report depicted an alarming picture. “Huge number of trees is being felled and apart from that huge machinery is being deployed, which has already destroyed an area of around 100 acres. The report also found that a certain number of peacocks, deer and birds are also seen in the said area.”

These are, prima facie, indication that there existed a forest inhabited by the wild animals. It further shows that there is also a lake beside the deforested area and deer are seen beside the lake, the Supreme Court stressed.

Taking a serious view of the deforestation activity, the Supreme Court sought answers from Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari on several issues about the compelling urgency in taking up developmental activities, removal of trees, whether the State obtained an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate etc.

Most interestingly, the Supreme Court also asked for a suo motu writ petition titled ‘Kancha Gachibowli Forest, State of Telangana’ being registered. This direction came after the Chief Minister’s forceful argument that Kancha Gachibowli land did not have any wildlife in it.