SC halts tree felling near KBR park

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered an immediate halt to tree-felling within the originally proposed eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of 25 to 35 metres around KBR National Park while hearing a petition challenging large-scale construction and road expansion activity around the protected area.A bench of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to the Telangana govt and directed that no trees be felled in the disputed zone until the next hearing on July 27.The petition was filed by Kaajal Maheshwari, Sagar Dhara and Jasveen Jairath, who had challenged the 2020 notification reducing the ESZ around KBR park from the earlier proposed 25-35 metres to between 3 and 29.8 metres. The petitioners contend that the reduction was carried out without conducting a mandatory public hearing and was aimed at facilitating infrastructure and road expansion projects.Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate K Vivek Reddy informed the court that tree-felling and construction activity were continuing "day and night" despite earlier proceedings before the Telangana high court.Reddy submitted that while the original ESZ proposal notified in 2015 protected a 25 to 35 metre buffer around the park, the state govt later pushed for a drastically reduced zone.The petition states that the state govt had earlier admitted before the high court that no public hearing was conducted prior to the 2020 notification. It also alleges that the expert committee examining the proposal was informed about plans to fell nearly 1,300 trees for road development around the park.The petitioners further argued that the reduced ESZ was intended to accommodate the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP), which has now been replaced by the Hyderabad City Innovative Transport Improvement (H-CITI) project. According to the plea, H-CITI proposes major flyovers, underpasses and road widening works encircling the park.The plea also alleges violations of environmental safeguards, claiming that construction debris, waste dumping and other activities have already affected the park's ecosystem. The petitioners have sought a stay on all construction, infrastructure and industrial activity in and around the park until the challenge to the 2020 ESZ notification is decided.