The State government on Monday informed the Karnataka High Court that only 2,150 trees are required to be felled instead of the 4,153 identified earlier for widening some stretches of State highways in the Tumkur division.
This submission was made before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice B.V. Nagarathna during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition initiated by the court based on a letter written by one G.T. Arun Kumar of Tumkur district last year.
It was told to the Bench that Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project, which has reworked the widening projects, has made certain changes in the alignment for road widening and decided not to cut 2,003 trees.
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The court had last year stayed felling of these 4,153 trees while treating a letter as a PIL petition. It was complained in the letter that a large number of trees were being cut without proper assessment of traffic and requirement for widening of the existing roads.