Telangana: Cutting of trees continues in Kanche Gachibowli

Hyderabad: As per rules, not even a single tree can be felled in a residential house or on the roadside without the permission of the forest department or the local municipality or municipal corporation. However, despite several trees being felled on the disputed 400-acre land in Kanche Gachibowli for the past two days, no action is being initiated by the forest department or GHMC. Forest officials, however, said it was not clear whether it was happening in their jurisdiction. “The said land does not come under the jurisdiction of the forest department. There was a dispute over the ownership of the land and it is also not clear whether trees were being felled or bushes were being cleared from the land,” the forest official said. He said the department could initiate action only after ascertaining whether it was classified as forest land or not.

He said if bushes were being cleared, permission from the department was not required. If Forest Conservation Act rules did not apply to the said land, local municipal officials could initiate action under the Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA Act). As per the Act, felling of trees is not permitted without prior permission of the designated authority. Any person, organisation, whether public or private or any government department, while carrying out infrastructure development or other activities, must ensure the safety of trees and their branches. In case of construction of new roads or widening of existing roads which involves felling of existing trees, the authority may issue suitable guidelines for protection of the growth of such trees, as it may deem fit, officials said.