The Telangana police have served a notice to state tourism secretary Smita Sabharwal for reposting an AI-generated Ghibli art image of bulldozers clearing vegetation on 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli on social media platforms.

This came on a day when the Congress government received a rap on the knuckles in the Supreme Court over the Kancha Gachibowli land row.

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Both the BJP and the BRS welcomed the court directive to halt tree felling and ensure wildlife protection.

IAS officer Smita Sabharwal, who currently heads the tourism department and is responsible for overseeing the Miss World beauty pageant, was served a notice under section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita by the police.

Sabharwal had reposted an AI-generated Ghibli art image showing two deer and a peacock facing a fleet of bulldozers in front of the iconic mushroom rock on her ‘X’ handle. An officer who is known for not mincing her words, Sabharwal, had reposted the image on 31 March. It was originally shared by an ‘X’ handle, “Hi Hyderabad.” Under the notice, Sabharwal will have to appear before the investigating officer.

The state government has taken a hard stance on the AI-generated images used by protestors and those who supported the protests against deforestation by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC). Senior police officers had blamed the AI-generated images of peacocks and deer fleeing in the face of bulldozers, which fuelled the protests.

Yesterday, the chief minister had remarked that even the Prime Minister believed in the AI-generated images and accused his government of clearing off protests.

Union minister of state for home affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, said, “Congress government talked of bulldozers, but the judiciary demolished their entire governance model. …Not just land, even a notified lake has been mortgaged under the Congress government. This is not governance; it’s reckless abuse of power and cheating the public.”

He went on to add, “Telangana model under Congress is land and lake sales, institutional damage, and environmental collapse. This isn’t Praja Palana- it’s public loot.”

BRS working president KT Rama Rao too welcomed the directives of the Supreme Court and its green watchdog Central Empowered Committee, under the environment ministry.

Rao hoped that “ at least now wisdom will dawn on chief minister Revanth Reddy and the Congress government in Telangana that it cannot get away with environmental murder.”

Referring to the CEC’s recommendation, he added that “This validates the BRS party’s stand that there was a massive financial fraud and reiterated that chief minister Revanth Reddy is responsible for perpetrating a Rs 10,000 crore scam.”

The CEC recommended that, given the seriousness of the violations and potential financial impropriety, an independent investigation by any specialized agency may be ordered to examine the legality of the clearance, the creation of third-party rights, the role of TGIIC officials and possible misuse of public land for private gain.