SC Halts Tree Felling in Kancha Gachibowli amid Telangana Govt’s Land Clearance Drive

The Telangana Government has proceeded with clearing land in Kancha Gachibowli village, located in Hyderabad’s IT corridor, despite protests from University of Hyderabad students. The land clearance began on Sunday afternoon and continued into Monday.

The state government plans to auction 400 acres in the area, expecting to generate revenue between ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 crore. Officials claim ownership of the land and aim to transform it into a hub featuring world-class IT parks, improved connectivity, and enhanced living spaces.

The Supreme Court on Thursday passed an interim order halting tree felling in Telangana's Kancha Gachibowli forest area near the Hyderabad Central University campus.

A bench of Justice including BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih issued the order after Senior Advocate K Paremeshwar, the amicus curiae in the forest cases, orally mentioned the tree felling issue.

The bench instructed the Telangana High Court Registrar to inspect the site and submit a report by 3:30 PM today. It also directed the State Chief Secretary to prevent any further tree felling until further orders. The Court will hear the matter at 3:45 PM today.

The bench observed in its order:

"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. Registrar (Judicial) of this Court to forthwith communicate this order to Registrar (Judicial) of HC, who shall act upon it forthwith."

Senior Advocate Dr. AM Singhvi, representing Telangana, informed the Court that the Telangana High Court is also addressing the issue. Yesterday, the High Court issued a status quo order on tree felling, effective until today.