“If you want the Chief Secretary to be spared from severe action, you must come out with a plan for how you will restore those 100 acres,”

SC Slams Telangana Govt Over Illegal Tree Felling on 100 Acres Near Hyderabad Central University, latest News: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reprimanded the Telangana government for defending the large-scale tree felling carried out across 100 acres near Hyderabad Central University.

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih, hearing a suo motu case regarding the deforestation in the Kancha Gachibowli area, ordered that no further tree felling should take place and immediate steps must be taken to protect the wildlife in the affected region.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the state government, argued that the felled trees fell under an exempted category as per the Telangana Water, Land, and Trees Act, 2002, and therefore did not require prior permission. The court rejected this argument, stating, “Even private forests require the court’s permission to fell trees.”

The Supreme Court also clarified that no government rules or interpretations can override its 1996 judgment in the T.N. Godavarman case, which held that forest land, as defined in Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, includes any area that fits the dictionary meaning of a forest or is listed as forest in government records.

“We are not bothered by anything else. We are only concerned with the damage to the environment. Any enactment or interpretation that goes against 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 observed.

“We are only concerned about how so many trees were cut without permission from authorities,” Justice Gavai added.

“If you want the Chief Secretary to be spared from severe action, you must come out with a plan for how you will restore those 100 acres,” Justice Gavai told Singhvi, who informed the court that the felling and construction work in Telangana had been stopped.

“We will not go by the interpretation of bureaucrats or ministers. We are surprised to see herbivorous animals in videos running for shelter, being bitten by stray dogs,” Justice Gavai said.

“We are focused on the presence of bulldozers and the erasure of a 100-acre forest. If you wanted to construct, you should have obtained proper permissions,” he added.

“In the meantime, we direct the Wildlife Warden of Telangana to examine the situation and immediately implement steps required to protect wildlife affected by the deforestation,” the court ordered.

“If you try to oppose restoration, then be prepared for temporary prison for your officers. In the meantime, not a single tree shall be felled. Have the bulldozers been removed?” the bench asked.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the tree felling in Kancha Gachibowli and had directed the Telangana High Court to submit an interim report after conducting a site inspection.

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