The Supreme Court on Thursday warned Telangana’s chief secretary and other senior officials with jail for the extensive tree felling at Kancha Gachibowli on Hyderabad’s outskirts, and asked the state to restore the forest cover or face contempt proceedings.
The bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said that “prima facie”, the felling of over 1,000 trees during an extended weekend — when the courts were closed — was “pre-planned”.
“How did you make arrangements in such a short spell of time? There were a dozen bulldozers. Prima facie, it appears everything was pre-planned,” Justice Gavai told senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was representing the Congress-ruled state.
Courts across the country had been closed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday on account of Buddha Purnima. The state authorities reportedly undertook the felling during this period despite the court’s April 3 directive against any deforestation measures.
“We have seen the photographs. Have you seen the photographs?” Justice Gavai asked, rejecting Singhvi’s argument that the area was a non-forest land and that the trees were cut down for a “bona fide” purpose.
“If your intentions were bona fide, why did you start the felling of the trees at the beginning of a long weekend, when courts were closed?” the bench asked.
Senior advocate and amicus curiae (friend of the court) K. Parmeshwar told the bench that the tree felling was done in haste and covered places that included areas considered dense or moderate forestland.
He cited a Forest Survey of India report and the findings of a central empowered committee.
Pressed for time, the bench adjourned the matter till July 23. It made it clear that if the forest cover was not restored, officials including the chief secretary would face the consequences.
Justice Gavai warned that the court might have a temporary prison established on the deforested land for the officials who defied its order.
On April 3, the apex court had on its own taken cognisance of the alleged felling of 1,500 trees on a 400-acre forestland by Telangana officials. This was ostensibly for the establishment of an IT park that environmentalists and students from the adjoining University of Hyderabad were opposing.