Central Empowered Committee favours declaration of 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli land as forest

Supreme Court committee recommends declaring 400-acre land at Kancha Gachibowli as forest, with strict conservation measures proposed.

The Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), in its report submitted to the apex court on Thursday (May 15, 2025), favoured declaration of the 400-acre land at Kancha Gachibowli as forest land, and its management entrusted to the Forest Department.

The committee has added a recommendation to the State government for declaring the land as conservation reserve in accordance with the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The CEC has relied on the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) study which stated that 56% of the land supported significant forest cover. Classifying it into categories of canopy density, the FSI report found that before the felling of trees, 7.08% of the land was very dense forest, 31.89% moderately dense forest, and 17.17% open forest.

These figures are much higher than the corresponding State level figures, which indicate 1.44% dense forest, 7.99% moderately dense, and 9.5% open forests.hosting the Kancha Gachibowli land, the figures are even lower, with 0.002% very dense forest, 0.61% moderately dense, and 7.92% open forests.

Highlighting the rich biodiversity existing on the 2,300-plus acres of land parcel of which the disputed land is part of, the CEC noted that the features of the land collectively contribute to a structurally diverse and ecologically resilient ecosystem.

“….The subject land warrants the highest level of protection and careful consideration for classification as a deemed forest or conservation reserve…. The ecological importance of the ‘subject land’ becomes more important when we look at this green and biodiversity-rich parcel of land right in the middle of a thickly populated area…,” the report read.

The committee has also endorsed restoration of the land to its original shape, which has been partially cleared of its greenery by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) in preparation for auction. A dense plantation of native trees and shrub species and necessary soil and moisture conservation activities should be taken up in the coming monsoons, the report said.