BRS urges SC to take cognisance of deer's death after tree felling near HCU

Hyderabad, April 4 (IANS) The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Friday requested the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the death of a deer after it was attacked by stray dogs following tree felling in Kancha Gachibowli near Hyderabad Central University.

BRS Working President, K.T. Rama Rao, posted on X about the death of the deer and blamed the destruction of the Kancha Gachibowli mini forest by the Telangana government.

“There is blood on your hands,” Rama Rao told top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

“This hapless deer, whose abode was destroyed by a greedy Congress government, was mauled by a pack of dogs this morning. Revanth Reddy's mindless destruction of the Kancha Gachibowli mini forest has led to the loss of precious flora and fauna,” he posted.

He requested the Supreme Court to take cognisance of ‘this blatant murder’ of wildlife.

“Due to the mindless felling of trees, this is the tragic situation in Kancha Gachibowli. A deer, which once roamed freely in its natural habitat, was exposed to the brutality of the outside world. It was viciously attacked by stray dogs, severely injured, and had to be rescued and sent for medical care. Tragically, the deer has now been declared DEAD,” reads an earlier post on the BRS’ official X handle.

“We request the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to take cognisance of this incident and ensure that no further damage is done to this fragile ecosystem,” it added.

The Supreme Court on Thursday took a serious view of tree-felling on 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli and directed the Telangana government to stop all developmental activities on the site till further orders.

A Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih asked the Telangana Chief Secretary what was the urgency to undertake development activity, including cutting of trees.

The apex court heard the matter after the Registrar of the Telangana High Court submitted a report on its order.

The Registrar stated in his report that about 100 acres of land had been cleared.

Observing that it is a serious matter, the Bench wanted to know if the authorities had the required permission. “You cannot take the law into your own hands,” the Bench told the state government.

The court asked the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to visit the site and submit a report by April 16.

The court also asked the state government to file an affidavit and posted the matter for further hearing on April 16.

The Supreme Court’s stay came after nearly a week-long protest by students, environmental activists and Opposition parties over the tree felling. They have been opposing the state government’s plan to develop the land and auction it for setting up IT parks.

--IANS

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