Telangana HC halts clearing of green cover in Kancha Gachibowli

Hyderabad: In a temporary relief to the protesting students of University of Hyderabad, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government to halt all activities on a disputed 400-acre land parcel in Kancha Gachibowli of Serilingampally mandal till 2 pm on April 3, 2025.

A bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara heard two public interest litigations (PILs) demanding the suspension of clearing of green cover at the Kancha Gachibowli site. The petitioners questioned the allocation of a 400-acre land parcel to Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), stating it breaches the Forest Conservation Act. They also demanded that the government declare the site a national park under Section 35 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The two petitions were filed by Kalapala Babu Rao, a retired scientist and Uday Krishna, environmentalist and founder of the Vata Foundation and were represented in the high court by senior counsel L Ravi Chandra and S Niranjan Reddy respectively.

The counsels for these two petitioners argued that the government’s effort to clear the green cover violated the forest conservation act. The high court will resume the hearing tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Union Environment Ministry has sought an official report from the Telangana government pertaining to the alleged illegal clearing of green cover in the biodiversity-sensitive Kancha Gachibowli area. The ministry directed the state's additional chief secretary for forests to pursue legal action as needed.

Earlier in the day, the police scuttled a protest rally organized by students and faculty at the University of Hyderabad against the government’s plan to raze and develop 400 acres near the campus.

The students raised slogans such as “Police go back,” “Ladenge, Jeetenge,” and “Awaaz Do, Hum Ek Hain” even as police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protesters.