Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 23, criticised the Telangana government for destroying the Kancha Gachibowli forest land overnight, stating that such actions cannot be justified in the name of sustainable development.
The bench comprised of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi.
CJI slams Telangana govt
Hearing the case, CJI BR Gavai remarked, “I am myself an advocate for sustainable development, but that doesn’t mean that overnight you should employ 30 bulldozers and clear all the jungle,” reported Bar and Bench.
In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had strongly criticised the actions of the state and warned of contempt proceedings and temporary imprisonment if the officials failed to restore the forest cover.
The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case in April and halted the deforestation of the land.
Kancha Gachibowli land row
The issue stems from a large-scale tree felling in a 400-acre land in Kancha Gachibowli. The Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) plans to develop an IT infrastructure project in the area; however, the move faces strong protests from locals and environmentalists, saying the deforestation has severe effects on the biodiversity forest.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitioners argue that the state was flouting two landmark Supreme Court judgments, TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India and Ashok Kumar Sharma vs Union of India, which directed the identification and protection of forests based on their dictionary meaning of ‘forest’.
They also argued that the state had not conducted any environmental assessment as required under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, before auctioning the land.
However, the Telangana government contended that the land in question is already classified as industrial land and said that the petitioner’s claims are based merely on Google Earth imagery.
The case has been adjourned until August 13 for further hearing.
