Vanishing Botanical Gardens : Citizens will breathe less & less?

Kothaguda Forest Block

Kothaguda Forest Block was declared as Reserve Forest under section 15 of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act 1967 (Act 1 of 1967) vide GO Ms. No. 1328, Food and Agriculture (For. III) Department of 16- 07-1969. Unlike the many other Reserve Forests constituted out of Government lands, this particular land was purchased from the Nizam of Hyderabad through proceedings of land acquisition paying full compensation.

It is a compact patch of greenery without any encumbrances in the midst of modern day urban expansion within the limits of GHMC.It is surrounded by several national & multinational IT Companies, Hi-Tec City, Premier educational Centers like University of Hyderabad, Gachi Bowli Sports Stadium & Sports Village, well known fast developing residential localities of Miyapur, Madhapur, Jubilee Hills etc.. It is a rare fortune for the Twin Cities to have this vast lung space which no other city in India can boast. Its importance as an environmental asset needs no emphasis. One may be able to ascribe a sale value for this precious forest land but its environmental and ecological value is incalculable

Urban Land Has Become A Commodity

Of course, HMDA itself had become a Real Estate Developers and resorted to auctioning large chunks of land in the conservation areas, of Banjar/Jubilee Hills, Madhapur and other areas, with the sole object of mobilising funds to cater for projects like Fly-overs, Outer Ring Road, etc unmindful of the land requirements of the generations to come and their well being. Similarly APIIC had been allotting large chunks of lands to real estate developers and corporate bodies and granting various relaxations on selective basis, in the name of attracting investments and providing employment opportunities, unmindful of the land use and its long term adverse impacts.

AP High Court Observations

The AP High Court in its landmark judgment on W.P. Nos.23835/96 and 35/97, against the use of Indira Park and "Buddhapurnima Park" opposite Lumbini Park, for cremation of mortal remains of the two former Chief Ministers of the State,. observed that “None of the respondents have been able to dispute the averment on behalf of the Petitioners and interveners that the City's Parks and other open spaces are hopelessly inadequate as per the standard in this behalf. The city is already breathing less than required breath and further depletions, by acts of the state, of the lung spaces of the city will make the breathing more difficult"

"Since we have found that the respondents have acted in violation of the fundamental rights of the Petitioners and others similarly situated and we have taken the view that any conversion of the parks to any other use, would violate the rights under Articles 21 & 14 of the Constitution of India, we unhesitatingly accept the Petitioners' plea that respondents have to be restrained from converting the parks to any other use" .

“In the result, the applications are allowed. Respondents are restrained from converting the above mentioned two parks to any other use and from permitting in future any burial, cremation or otherwise disposal of the dead at any place other than the place registered ---“

"Whatever little scope was available to argue that the government of the state represents the sovereign and retained thus its eminent domain in deciding in respect of the use of a public place one way or the other is taken away by the Constitution Amendment) Act, 1992 and Article 243W (a) therein read with the list in the Twelfth Schedule"

Diversion for Eco-Tourism Projects

Even though no change is projected by the master plans in the areas covered by Forests and Water bodies, the ground reality is that much of the area shown as Forest / Water body has been diverted / encroached for other purposes. The State Government has been liberally allotting large areas of land covered under Reserved Forests, Conservation Areas & Water Bodies to various individuals and organisations, granting relaxations on selective basis, in the name of promoting Eco-Tourism projects by unilaterally modifying the land use. The organised recreational/open spaces occupy less than 1% land providing hardly per capita recreational area of 1.16 Sq.Mtrs, against minimum basic requirement of 3.00 Sq.Mtrs. Any further reduction is going to make breathing that much more difficult in the City.

The diversion of 110.87ha (274.11 Acers) of Forest Land, in the name of development of Eco-Tourism Projects-, Night Safari & Eco-Park and Bird Park- in Kothaguda RF, in the close vicinity of Madhapur High-tech City, is a classic example of depleting much needed urban Green Belts and Lung Spaces. The Citizens of Hyderabad are already experiencing the adverse impacts of so called Eco-Tourism Projects –Necklace Road, IMAX Theater, Jala Vihar, Eat Street etc. around Husain Sagar- by way of shrinkage of the Water Body & its pollution and Traffic congestion, Air Pollution etc.

Let us SAVE for future generations

If the citizens are ready to buy apartments in buildings without Occupancy Certificate and violated Safety Norms, Land-Use Plan, Building Rules etc , if they patronise shops / malls that have no parking space and also build houses within FTL of Water Bodies, no amount of policing can fully enforce any land use. It is worse if the State itself becomes the Violator or the Culprit.

The important aspect to remember is that Hyderabad, endowed with heritage and nature, will have to be saved, protected & preserved for the future by proper land use planning & management and not by treating it as a Commodity, both by the Citizens and the Government to satisfy their short term needs and the greed.