SC Upholds Status Quo on Kancha Tree Felling

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Wednesday maintained status quo over tree felling in 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli near the Hyderabad Central University campus.

The division bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih ordered the state government to commence restoration of trees in the 100 acres land, where 1,300 trees had been cut down and to take steps to protect the wildlife affected by the deforestation. The Bench also ordered that not a single tree should be felled in the area.

The Bench directed the Wildlife Warden of Telangana to take immediate steps for the protection of wildlife affected due to cutting of trees in 100 acres. It made it clear that if the state government wants to come back, first commence restoration in the 100 acres.

The Bench also made it clear that it is not concerned with the title dispute over the land and whether it is government or somebody else's land or that the government had mortgaged the said land and taken the Rs 10,000 crores or anything…. Just our concern in this issue is the felling of trees in large-scale and destroying the habitats of animals and various species.

Justice B.R. Gavai made it clear to the government not to defend the destruction in the name of development. Rather than justifying it, make a plan for restoration. He also observed that the court would go out of way to protect the environment and ecology. “Under Article 142 of the Constitution, we (Supreme Court) can issue any directions to complete justice,” the bench said.

“Still if you (the state government) want to defend or justify and to further go work at the said place, then to get ready for your officers to be jailed in the temporary prisons, which would be built at the same spot, if required,” the Supreme Court observed.

At the same time, the court inquired whether the bulldozers have been removed from the site or not? "The state would be inviting an order from us (Supreme Court) to send its officials responsible for the deforestation to the prison, if it wants to justify the destruction," the Bench said.

“If you (the state government) want the Chief Secretary and others to be saved from severe action, you have to come out with a plan as to how you would restore the said land. Otherwise, we don`t know how many of your officers will have to go to a temporary prison,” Justice Gavai said.

Further, the court directed the state wildlife warden to examine and put into effect immediate steps that are required to be undertaken to protect the wildlife which has been affected on account of the deforestation in the 100 acres.

When the state government’s counsel tried to justify, the Bench asked the government to directly tell ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as to whether the permission as per the statute obtained or not.

Senior counsel Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing the state government argued that there is exemption to cut some types of trees without obtaining permission and there is some exemption to some rules of WALTA Act in the state.

Referring to its 1996 orders, which defined forest, and cases of the Union and Maharashtra governments, which fought long battles over felling of trees for important projects, the judge said if there is any such certification in Telangana, it is in contravention of the Supreme Court's 1996 judgment in the present matter. Justice Gavai observed, "We will not go by the interpretation of either the bureaucrats or the ministers… let the state justify as to how it overcame the court's 1996 order."

During the course of hearing, Justice Gavai posed several questions to the state government as to “what is the tearing urgency for deforestation and why the government picked the holidays, to destroy the trees and why the dozens of the bulldozers were engaged to cut the trees. Don`t the authorities know that even private forest lands cannot be disturbed without obtaining permission from the forest department and others. Didn't the stray dogs bite the deers, which were running for shelter and food, after the destruction of 100 acres. It is unfortunate to see such videos, where deers running into houses seeking shelter and herbivorous animals were killed with dog bites.