The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Telangana government while hearing a suo motu case concerning large-scale tree felling in the Kancha Gachibowli area near Hyderabad. The court, which had taken up the issue on its own following reports of widespread environmental damage, questioned the state’s actions and pressed for immediate restoration measures rather than justifications.
Appearing for Telangana government, senior advocate AM Singhvi, told the bench that “everything has been stopped”, claiming that due permissions were obtained for most of the tree cutting, barring a small number.
Not satisfied with the answer, one of the judges asked pointedly, “Do you have permission of the tree authorities for felling the trees?”
Though Singhvi told the court that due permissions were in place, the top court remained unconvinced, and highlighted its concerns that proper procedures might have been bypassed.
The court was particularly scathing about the timing and urgency of the activity. “What was the tearing hurry to do it in the three-day holiday?” the bench questioned. Singhvi responded by stating the process had begun in 2024 and was being misrepresented as a recent act. “It’s being shown as if it was just started,” he said, adding that the project in question was valued at Rs 50,000 crore and aimed to generate one lakh jobs.
In response, the court said: “We aren’t concerned with project value or employment figures. We are first concerned with the restoration of the area.”
“Better thing for you, instead of justifying it, is to come up with a plan for restoration. Otherwise, we don’t know how many of your officials will have to go,” the bench stated.
