Supreme Court stays tree felling around Hyderabad’s KBR Park

Hyderabad: In a major victory for environmental activists and citizen groups, the Supreme Court of India on Monday, May 18, 2026, stayed all tree felling within the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) surrounding the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park in Jubilee Hills. The interim order effectively puts a temporary brake on the state government’s ambitious Rs. 1,090-crore infrastructure project, which has faced severe backlash from nature lovers and urban conservationists.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the interim direction while hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by environmental activist Kaajal Maheshwari. The petition challenged a recent order by the Telangana High Court, which had refused to grant interim relief against the cutting of trees, despite being informed that rapid construction activity was causing irreversible damage to one of Hyderabad’s primary “green lungs.”

The legal dispute centers heavily on the boundaries of the Eco-Sensitive Zone, which acts as a crucial “shock absorber” to protect wildlife habitats within the national park from surrounding urban disruption.

The petitioner argued that between 2012 and 2015, the original administrative proposal intended to create a protective buffer zone extending 25 to 35 meters around the park boundary. However, to accommodate the multi-layered flyovers and underpasses under the Hyderabad City Innovative and Transformative Infrastructure (H-CITI) project, the buffer zone was drastically altered.

A final notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in October 2020 narrowed the ESZ down to a mere 3 meters to 29.8 meters in several dense stretches. Activists alleged that this massive reduction was a deliberate attempt by municipal authorities to bypass expensive land acquisition costs and push the concrete projects through, even claiming that a mandatory public hearing regarding the buffer shrinkage was never actually conducted.

Taking a serious view of the ecological compromises, the Supreme Court bench questioned why the protective zone was reduced so sharply. The apex court ordered a complete halt to the chopping of trees, directing that no felling shall take place within the originally intended 25 to 35-meter perimeter of the park boundary.

The top court issued formal notices to the central and state respondents, demanding an explanation for the alteration of the protected zone, and listed the matter for its next comprehensive hearing on July 27, 2026.

The stay order brings an immediate halt to ongoing civil works around the Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills junctions. The H-CITI project, overseen by the municipal administration to clear chronic traffic bottlenecks, envisions the construction of seven steel flyovers and seven underpasses cutting through the park’s peripheral walkways.

Activists and citizen groups, who have waged a decade-long pitched battle using postcards, online petitions, and street protests, welcomed the apex court’s intervention. They stated that over 2,000 trees have already been lost to recent expansions and argued that the government must explore sustainable public transport alternatives rather than choking the city’s premier biodiversity hub in concrete.