Supreme Court warns Telangana govt over Kancha Gachibowli tree felling, lists case for July 23

The bench, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih, expressed deep concern over the deforestation carried out during a long weekend and warned of contempt proceedings, if restoration of forest is not taken up

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Telangana government over the large-scale felling of trees in the forest area at Kancha Gachibowli in Hyderabad. The bench, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih, expressed deep concern over the deforestation carried out during a long weekend and warned of contempt proceedings, if restoration of forest is not taken up.

“It is up to the State whether it wants to restore the forest or not. If you want the Chief Secretary and half a dozen officers to shift to a temporary prison, we can do that,” CJI Gavai remarked, while adjourning the suo motu matter to July 23 following a request from the State government for a post-vacation hearing.

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According to legal news publisher Live Law, the Court noted that the tree felling appeared pre-planned, criticising the timing and scale of the activity. “If you are bona fide, why was the deforestation started on a long vacation? Dozen bulldozers were arranged. Prima facie this was planned,” the Chief Justice observed.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the State, claimed all activity had been stopped and that reforestation efforts were underway. However, senior advocate K Parameshwar countered that no such activity was happening at the site in question and cited a Forest Services report confirming that over 60 per cent of the deforested area was moderate to heavily dense forest.

The Court reiterated its earlier stay on tree felling and reminded the State of its direction to protect wildlife in the area. “We are advocates of sustainable development, but the question here is about felling of thousands of trees, taking wrong advantage of the long vacation for deforestation,” the CJI warned, hinting that senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, could face jail, if the State fails to act.