During the suo motu hearing of the deforestation in Telangana’s Kancha Gachibowli forest, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai made strong oral remarks against the overnight use of bulldozers to clear the forest. The CJI highlighted that while he supports sustainable development, such methods are not acceptable.
"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," said CJI BR Gavai.
This observation came while the Supreme Court was addressing the urgent issue of rapid deforestation in the Kancha Gachibowli area. The court had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of the case after receiving alarming reports of large-scale clearing of green cover.
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Senior Advocate K Parameshwar, acting as amicus curiae, informed the bench that some private parties were seeking to file responses to the State’s affidavit. The bench then decided to re-list the matter for hearing on August 13.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had pulled up the State for misusing a long weekend to hastily begin bulldozing operations. The court even warned of contempt proceedings and temporary imprisonment of officials if such actions continued.
The court emphasized, “Restoration of status quo at the site will be the Court’s first priority.”
It directed the Wildlife Warden of Telangana to take immediate steps to protect the wildlife affected by the deforestation. The court had also given the State time to respond to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) report following spot inspection.
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Background of the Case:
The issue stems from a government order reportedly issued by the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), which proposed the alienation of 400 acres of green land in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area for IT infrastructure development.
Reports of widespread tree-felling on this land triggered public outrage and legal action. On April 2, the Telangana High Court stayed further tree felling until April 3, when it was scheduled to hear the matter. Later, on April 7, the High Court deferred the hearing until April 24, as the Supreme Court had already taken up the issue.
According to claims, TSIIC acquired the land in 2012 and issued the order to alienate the area in 2024. Following this, massive tree-felling activities began with heavy machinery brought to the site. This led to the filing of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) before the High Court.
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The PIL petitioners argued that the government’s actions were in violation of two landmark Supreme Court judgments:
- T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India
- Ashok Kumar Sharma v. Union of India
In these rulings, the Supreme Court had directed all states to identify forests and forest-like areas using the dictionary definition of “forest” and form proper committees for their preservation.
Petitioners also alleged that no environmental assessment was conducted under the EIA Notification, 2006, even though the land was being auctioned for an IT Park.
However, the State claimed that the land in question was designated as industrial land, and dismissed the petitioners' arguments as being based on Google Earth images.
Case Title: In Re Kancha Gachibowli Forest, State of Telangana v. | SMW(C) No. 3/2025 (and connected case)