Supreme Court Restrains Authorities From Cutting Trees In Eco-Sensitive Zone Of Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park

A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said there should be no tree felling within the 25-35 metre eco-sensitive zone around the park.

The Apex Court issued a notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Telangana government and others while seeking their replies on the plea filed by activist Kaajal Maheshwari.

The Apex Court was hearing a plea filed by Maheshwari challenging an order of the Telangana High Court that refused to grant interim relief.

Maheshwari had moved a plea before the High Court challenging the reduction of the eco-sensitive zone around KBR National Park to a width ranging from 3 metres to 29.8 metres.

The plea contended that such a narrow buffer would defeat the very purpose of an ESZ as a "shock absorber" for a protected area.

In 2015, the state government proposed to develop six junctions around the national park by building multi-level flyovers under the Strategic Road Development Plan. This required the chopping of more than 1,300 trees for widening of roads.

As part of the project, it had proposed a modification of the eco-sensitive zone and finalised reduction of the park’s walkway to between 3 and 29.8 metres from the present 25 to 35 metres from its boundary.