The Supreme Court of India has asked the Telangana government to stop all development work on land next to the University of Hyderabad. This decision comes after protests by students who were worried about trees being cut in the area.

A report from the Telangana High Court showed that a large number of trees had already been cut down. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih called the report “an alarming picture” of deforestation. Because of this, the court said that no activity should be allowed on the land except work to protect trees.

The court also asked the Telangana Chief Secretary to explain why the government was in such a hurry to begin development on the land. The judges asked if the state had taken an “environmental impact assessment certificate” before starting any activity.

The case will be heard again on April 16.

Earlier in the day, the court had also ordered the Telangana High Court's registrar (judicial) to visit the site immediately and check the situation.

The Telangana government plans to build IT infrastructure on 400 acres of land. However, many students, as well as opposition parties like the BJP and BRS, are against the plan and want the trees to be protected.

 

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