Supreme Court Warns Telangana Over Trees Cut In Hyderabad's Kancha Gachibowli: 'Restore Forest Or Face Jail'

The Supreme Court on Thursday (15 May) gave a stern ultimatum to restoring the devastated Kancha Gachibowli forest in Telangana's Hyderabad, The Hindu reported.

“It is for the State (Telengana) to make a choice between restoring the forest or having the Chief Secretary and officials in prison,” Chief Justice of India B R Gavai said firmly, while hearing the matter with Justice A G Masih.

Representing the state, senior advocate A M Singhvi appealed for an opportunity to make the case that development and environmental preservation could coexist. “I am here to persuade My Lords that ecology and IT can go together. Can I not persuade Your Lordships? Must I drop my case here and now,” Singhvi noted.

Chief Justice Gavai, however, noted that the core concern wasn’t about the compatibility of IT development with ecology. “We have always been advocates of sustainable development. But the question here is the felling of thousands of trees, taking advantage of a long weekend,” he said.

When Singhvi insisted that “thousands” of trees had not been cut, Chief Justice Gavai replied, “We have seen the photographs.”

“If your intention was bona fide, why did you start the felling of the trees at the beginning of a long weekend when courts were closed? You should not have indulged in this,” Chief Justice Gavai said.

Singhvi argued that since the apex court's order on 16 April to halt all activity at the site, “not a leaf has been moved.” He assured the bench that the state was following the directive in “letter and spirit” and that a large afforestation programme was currently underway in the area

The court has scheduled the next hearing for 23 July.