Supreme Court Imposes Immediate Stay: The Supreme Court of India has issued a crucial interim order halting the cutting down of trees around the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park in Hyderabad. The stay order was granted during a hearing concerning the Telangana government’s proposed flyover construction under the Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP). The apex court specifically directed that no trees within a 25 to 30-meter radius of the ecologically sensitive zone of the national park should be touched or felled until the next scheduled hearing.
Environmental Concerns and Allegations: During the proceedings, the counsel representing the environmental petitioners brought to the court’s attention that approximately 1,300 fully grown trees were at risk of being axed for the infrastructure project. When the bench questioned whether an alternative engineering plan existed to execute the construction without clearing the green cover, the petitioners’ lawyer stated that no such sustainable plan had been proposed. Furthermore, the counsel alleged that the local authorities were actively removing trees day and night, disregarding the ecological fallout on the urban habitat.
Notices Issued and Hearing Adjourned: After hearing the arguments highlighting the potential threat to the park’s biodiversity and local oxygen levels, the Supreme Court issued formal notices to the Telangana State Government and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking their responses. The legal intervention effectively puts a temporary brake on the state’s flagship flyover project at the KBR Park junction. The bench has adjourned the matter and scheduled the next comprehensive hearing for July 27, 2026.
