The Supreme Court (SC) has postponed the next hearing on the Kancha Gachibowli land case to May 15, after reviewing a detailed site inspection report submitted by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The court has granted the Telangana government four weeks to respond to the report and present a plan to address the environmental fallout, as reported by Deccan Chronicle.

Taking a firm stance, the court directed the Wildlife Warden of Telangana to implement immediate measures to protect wildlife affected by deforestation across 100 acres of land near the University of Hyderabad (UoH, popularly known as Hyderabad Central University, HCU).

The bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih, raised sharp questions over the state government’s urgency in clearing the land, describing the large-scale tree felling as alarming.

“You have to come up with a plan as to how you will restore those 100 acres,” Justice Gavai told Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who appeared for the state.

Justice Gavai also expressed deep concern over visuals that showed distressed animals fleeing the area due to the clearing activity.

“For the protection of the environment and ecology, we will go out of the way,” he said.

The court made it clear that no additional trees are to be felled in the area until further orders. The next hearing is scheduled for May 15.

The matter first came under the Supreme Court’s lens on April 3, when it took suo motu cognisance of the deforestation in the Kancha Gachibowli forest, terming the issue “very serious”. The court had then stayed all ongoing and planned tree-clearing activity.

The disputed 400-acre land parcel, adjacent to the University of Hyderabad, has sparked student-led protests over the state’s development plans, which they allege threaten the region’s biodiversity and ecological balance.