Telangana High Court stays felling of trees at Kancha Gachibowli

The bench heard two public interest litigations filed by retired scientist Kalapala Babu Rao and Vata Foundation

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy to ensure that no further destruction or cutting of trees should take place till Thursday in the matter pertaining to 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli in Serilingampally mandal.

The PIL bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara inconclusively heard two public interest litigation cases filed by Kalapala Babu Rao, a retired scientist and Vata Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Senior advocates L Ravichander and S Niranjan Reddy represented the petitioners challenging the GO 54 issued by the Revenue Department with the proposal of putting up 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli for auction through the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC).

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The contentions raised by the senior advocates were that the said land of 400 acres falls under the category of Forest under the Forest Conservation Act, independent of the ownership or title of the property. It was also emphasised that the said land was the lung of the city balancing the pollution from the adjoining financial district with high-rise buildings.

Ravichander pointed out that all rules were junked and no study was conducted on the environmental implications. He highlighted that the forest land that was continuously razed had rich and diverse flora and fauna, mammals, birds, four rare species of flora and mushroom rock formations aged two billion years. The forest under destruction had three lakes including the Peacock Lake and Buffalo Lake and the land was the highest catchment area for the reservoirs feeding Hyderabad drinking water.

Niranjan Reddy highlighted that the State government should identify an expert committee as directed by the Supreme Court to identify lands that fall under the category of forest for the purpose of conservation. There was no clarity on the constitution of expert committee he said.

Pointing out at the heavy machinery deployed in the said land for deforestation, he doubted if the authorities had obtained clearances for uprooting the trees. He said not a single tree can be cut without obtaining permission from the concerned authority from the WALTA Act. The Government does not deserve the faith entrusted by this Court as the government has proceeded with uprooting the trees in a haste manner while the matter is subjudice before this Court and he highlighted the need for staying the Government action is raising the forest under G.O. 54.

Sudarshan Reddy, representing the State government, countered the petitioners’ arguments by stating that the claim of the land being forest land was based solely on Google images. He argued that there were no official records classifying the 400 acres as forest land under the Forest Conservation Act and emphasised that the land in question was never notified as forest land under any relevant enactment.

After hearing both sides, the High Court bench adjourned the matter till Thursday while directing that no further destruction or cutting of trees should take place until the next hearing.