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No tree felling should be permitted in the Kancha Gachibowli forest, Telangana till further orders, directed the Supreme Court (SC), April 3, 2025.
SC directed the registrar (judicial) of the High Court of Telangana to visit the site in question and submit its interim report. The apex court further directed the Chief Secretary of the state of Telangana to ensure that until further orders are passed by the court, no tree felling should be permitted in the Kancha Gachibowli forest area.
Amicus Curiae brought the court's attention to the news item dated April 2, 2025 published in various newspapers. The newspaper reports said that vast deforestation is being carried out in the Kancha Gachibowli forest. It showed that a large number of trees are being felled.
The news reports indicated that the authorities, capitalizing on the extended weekend holidays, have hastily cut down the trees. Moreover, the forest is known to be a habitat for eight species of protected animals.
On March 26, 2025, the Supreme Court approved two clauses of the application concerning the felling of Khair trees in Jammu & Kashmir.
The first clause involves modifying the management plan for felling Khair trees from the year 2016-2017 to 2025-2026, particularly in the village of Bhaga (Sirla) within the Katra forest range, Reasi forest division tehsil and Reasi district. The applicants are granted an 8-week period to complete the felling activities.
The second clause directs the respondents to finalise the administrative processes outlined in rules 4-8 (marking, etc) within two weeks, enabling the applicants to cut and remove the trees within the following six weeks.
Nearly 1,459 acres of the Yamuna floodplain have been reclaimed, with restoration projects underway to rejuvenate the area. This information was included in a status report filed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on April 2, 2025.
The court was informed that in certain cases, status quo orders have been issued, preventing any action until a final decision is made.
The DDA's report was in response to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order from February 6, 2025. It detailed the encroachments identified by the DDA along the 22 km stretch of the Yamuna floodplains from Wazirabad to Madanpur Khadar and the actions taken.
The report highlighted the efforts to comply with various orders from the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, and the National Green Tribunal to remove encroachments from the Yamuna floodplains.