NEW DELHI: The Telangana government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it was in the process of coming up with a detailed and holistic development plan with respect to the Kancha Gachibowli forest area, where large-scale felling of trees had taken place in April this year.
After hearing these submissions, the apex court in its order granted six weeks to the Telangana government to come out with a “good proposal” for holistic restoration of the Kancha Gachibowli forest site, saying the state government will have to replant the uprooted trees.
“The court is not against development, but development has to be sustainable. While carrying out development activities, the interest of environment and wildlife has to be taken care of by ensuring mitigating and compensatory measures,” said a bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran.
The forest area needs to be restored, it added.
The apex court, while taking suo motu cognisance of the felling of trees at Kancha Gachibowli, reiterated that it was not against development but noted that the environment needs to be protected.
During the course of the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Telangana government, informed the bench that in compliance with earlier directives of the apex court, all tree-cutting actions have been halted.
“Court shouldn’t have any concern about that. Now, we want to come up with much larger plan. It will take some time,” he said.
While asking Singhvi to come up with good proposal, the bench said: “We will withdraw all (suo motu proceedings against the state)... and give you real compliment, if the proposal will be good. We want the environment to be protected.”
Singhvi sought six weeks to place the proposal before it, which the bench granted, and recorded the state’s submission.
The case pertains to the alleged cutting of approximately 400 acres of green cover in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area by the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) for the development of information technology infrastructure.
The court in its earlier hearings, stressed that sustainable development is important, and cautioned against the use of bulldozers to clear forests in order to achieve it.