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The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered an immediate halt to all tree-cutting activities by taking Suo Motu cognisance of ongoing deforestation in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area near the Hyderabad Central University campus.
The top court bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih noted that no action should be taken except for measures to protect the trees in the region.
The bench has made it clear that if any of the directions are not complied with, the Chief Secretary will be held responsible and face consequences.
The bench has issued a series of questions aimed at the state government and officials involved.
* Why was there a sense of urgency?
* Was an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted?
* Were the necessary permissions obtained?
* Why were certain officers included in the committee?
The bench responded to a suo motu cognisance of the matter after Senior Advocate K Paremeshwar raised the issue in the Supreme Court.
Earlier in the day, SC directed the Registrar of the Telangana High Court to inspect the site and submit a detailed report by 3:30 PM the same day.
The said report is taken on record.
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