DELHI: Warning the Telangana government of stern action if no decision is taken on the restoration of the Kancha Gachibowli forest, the Supreme Court on Thursday said felling of trees next to the University of Hyderabad prima facie appeared to be “pre-planned”.
“The Telangana government has to restore the forest or its officials could land in jail,” said a two-judge bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.
While taking suo motu cognisance of the felling of trees at the forest area in Kancha Gachibowli, the bench had stayed felling of flora at the site and warned the state chief secretary of consequences if its order was not complied with.
The bench questioned why trees were felled taking advantage of a long weekend when the courts were not available.
On Thursday, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Telangana government, said there was no activity being carried out at the site and assured compliance with the top court’s directives in “letter and spirit”.
Senior advocate K Parameshwar, assisting the top court as an amicus curiae, said the Forest Survey of India gave a report to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) after using satellite imagery indicating 60 per cent of the total 104 acre area, where trees were felled, was moderately dense and heavily dense forest.
“If you want to be saved from contempt, better take a decision to restore the forest,” the bench told the state’s counsel.
The bench went on, “We are putting you on guard. If you try to defend such a thing, the chief secretary and all those officers involved will be in trouble.”
It added, “You should not have indulged in this. Taking advantage of a long weekend, you do all this.”
Referring to the photographs, the bench said the authorities had managed to arrange dozens of bulldozers to fell the trees.
For felling trees, the bench observed, the state was required to take requisite permission. “If you had bona fides, then why did you not start it on a Monday? Why only start it at the beginning of a long weekend?” the bench asked.
Singhvi, who said the state has filed a counter affidavit in the court, argued he would deal with these aspects during his arguments in the matter.
The bench observed it was the state’s choice whether it wanted its chief secretary and half-a-dozen officers to be shifted to a temporary prison to be constructed at the site.
“It is up to the state whether it wants to restore the forest or not. The entire issue was that the benefit of a long weekend was taken and thousands of trees were felled. Anyway, the state has to decide whether it restores the forest or officers would be sent to jail,” the CJI said, and posted the matter for July 23 for further hearing.
The court had earlier in one of its hearings expressed concern over the environmental damage due to the felling of a large number of trees on
a land parcel next to the University of Hyderabad, and said it would go out of the way for the protection of environment and ecology.
(With PTI inputs)
