Supreme Court stays deforestation in Hyderabad's Kancha Gachibowli amid protests

The top court bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih asked the registrar of the Telangana High Court to visit the site and submit an interim report by 3:30 pm.

The bench said as quoted by The Indian Express, "Newspapers depict that vast deforestation is being undertaken in the Kancha Gachibowli forest. It shows that a large number of trees are being felled.

"The news items show that taking advantage of long holidays over the weekend, the authorities have rushed to felling the trees. It is further reported that the forest area is home to 8 types of scheduled animals."

"We direct the registrar (judicial) of Telangana HC to forthwith visit the site in question and submit his interim report by 3.30 pm today. The registrar (judicial) of this court to forthwith communicate this order to the registrar (judicial) of high court, who shall act upon it forthwith," it added.

As per reports, the government has been cutting down trees to flatten the land ahead of the auction.

Meanwhile, the Centre has asked the state government to send a factual report on the decision to auction 400 acres of land.

The Supreme Court intervened after senior advocate and amicus curiae K Parameshwar brought up the issue before the bench.

The matter came to the light after several reports claiming massive felling of trees started over the weekend.

A massive uproar was triggered by the reports with several students and environmentalists protesting against the government's action and demanded that the State should withdraw its decision.

Joining the protests, Indian actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu shared a news report on her Instagram handle and requested the users to sign the petition to back the protests against the deforestation.

The online petition started by Kirti C, who stays next to the forest land, claims the deforestation will impact the rich biodiversity and cause negative effects on people's lives indirectly.

"Famed for its eco-diversity, Kancha Gachibowli, is not just a forest, but a green lung, a natural sink making significant contributions to the overall air quality and ameliorating climate change impacts.

"By absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, forests are crucial in our fight against global warming," the petition has been quoted by Telangana Today.