New Delhi: Coming down heavily on the Telangana government, the Supreme Court has ordered the state authorities to either restore Hyderabad's Kancha Gachibowli forest or be prepared to face penal consequences.
The SC spelt out its firm stand during a suo motu hearing regarding large-scale deforestation in the Kancha Gachibowli area of Hyderabad.
The apex court stayed all further felling of trees in the region and issued a stern warning:
A bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih made it unequivocally clear that "not even a single tree should be felled" in the 100-acre forest area.
Taking serious note of the destruction, the court ordered the Wildlife Warden of Telangana to take immediate steps to protect the wildlife adversely impacted by the unauthorised deforestation.
“The entire issue was that the benefit of the long weekend was taken, and thousands of trees were felled,” Justice Gavai observed, noting the suspicious timing of the environmental damage.
Addressing the state’s counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Justice Gavai remarked, “It is up to the state whether it wants to restore the forest or send its officers to jail. If you try to justify the deforestation, then the better course is to come up with a plan for forest restoration.”
The bench even suggested that the responsible officers could be temporarily imprisoned "on the very same spot" where the ecological harm was caused.
The Court's unyielding message was clear: environmental laws are not negotiable. The matter has now been listed for further hearing on July 23, with the court expecting a concrete action plan from the Telangana government to reverse the damage.
In Justice Gavai's words: “We will go all out of the way for the protection of the environment and ecology.”
This strong judicial intervention underscores the Supreme Court’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding India's ecological balance and holding accountable those who act in blatant disregard of environmental norms.
