KBR Park Petitioners Dispute Claims of Formal Complaint Triggering CEC Site Visit

Procedural Confusion Over CEC Site Inspection

Legal challengers involved in the Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) litigation for Hyderabad’s KBR National Park have dismissed reports that they initiated a formal complaint leading to a recent site visit by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The clarification follows a July 26, 2026, meeting between CEC member Anjan Mohanty and the petitioners.

The petitioners stated that the inspection actually stemmed from a June 15, 2026, email inquiry. That communication was directed to the GHMC Commissioner, the PCCF (HoFF), the Hyderabad District Collector, and the District Forest Officer. While the CEC was copied on the correspondence, the primary intent was to seek data regarding the felling of a single tree within the ESZ. The petitioners requested details on:

• Official permits granted for the removal.
• The specific agency executing the work.
• Records of any mandatory prior inspections.

Exclusion and Lack of Formal Notice

According to a statement from the petitioners, they were excluded from the official CEC programme circulation list, which included the Chief Secretary and the Field Director of KBR National Park. They reportedly received only an overnight invitation for the Sunday meeting, which lacked a formal agenda. Furthermore, the petitioners denied claims circulating in news reports that a meeting was scheduled for Monday, July 27, 2026.

Due to the short notice, only one of the three petitioners attended the session alongside officials from the Forest Department and GHMC. The scope of these deliberations was notably narrow; the CEC explicitly excluded all issues currently under the Special Leave Petition, focusing solely on the single felled tree.

Source: The Hindu — Cities