On Wednesday, the Telangana High Court halted work on 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli, close to the Hyderabad Central University, for a period of 24 hours. The temporary order was issued as the court reviewed PILs, or public interest litigations, submitted by students and the Vata Foundation.
The petitioners requested a stay, claiming that the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, or TGIIC, was unlawfully cutting trees with bulldozers, contrary to Supreme Court rulings.
They contended that even though the land was assigned according to a state directive, TGIIC was required to adhere to the orders of the highest court; that is, to form a committee to supervise the tree cutting.
In particular, the highest court determined that if the area was home to wildlife, the committee must assess the effects of tree cutting for a month prior to making a ruling.
The petitioners argued that the land in dispute serves as a habitat for numerous animal and bird species; thus, the Vata Foundation, an NGO, requested deemed forest recognition and requested it to be designated as a ‘national park’ under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
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Nevertheless, Advocate-General Sudershan Reddy, representing the Telangana government, informed the court that the 400 acres is not designated as a ‘forest’, emphasizing this by highlighting that high-rise structures – complete with four helipads – were constructed on nearby plots. He also contended that various regions in Hyderabad contained snakes and peacocks, none of which could be labeled as ‘forests’.
After listening to both parties, the division bench of the High Court, headed by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, mandated that work continues to be halted until Thursday.
University students initiated a protest after the TGIIC commenced clearing the land of trees and rocks in preparation for its auction for IT park development. The students have declared a permanent boycott of classes until their requests are fulfilled.
The situation intensified on Sunday when bulldozers showed up to level the area.
