Bengaluru metro rail project: High court allows felling of 577 trees

This is as per an expert panel’s recommendation

Bengaluru

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday permitted the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) to fell 577 trees, translocate 212 trees and retain 44 trees on site at different stretches of phase 2A of the metro project as recommended by the Technical Expert Committee (TEC), which was set up on the court’s direction.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the interim order while allowing an application filed by the BMRCL seeking the court’s nod based on the report submitted by the TEC on a request submitted by the BMRCL to remove 833 trees in different stretches.

The Bench was hearing the PIL petition filed in 2018 by Dattatraya T. Devare and Bangalore Environment Trust complaining about non-implementation of Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976.

Observing that the judges are not experts to decide whether 577 trees can be allowed to be cut or not when the TEC has given its opinion after examining the request of the BMRCL, the Bench noted that 256 can be saved by way of retaining 44 and translocation of 212 trees based on the assessment made by the committee.

Earlier, objection was raised on behalf of the petitioners for accepting TEC’s report while claiming that there is a huge difference in number of trees to be removed for the metro project as BMRCL is now wants to remove 2,115 as against 1,218 trees mentioned in its Detailed Project Report (DPR). It was contended on behalf of the petitionerd that neither BMRCL has given any explanation on increase in number of trees nor the TEC examined this aspect.

To this, the BMRCL counsel pointed out that the DPR was prepared way back in 2016 and the girth of several of smaller plants then have now grown bigger making them to fall under classification of trees.

Pointing out that there can be some variation in the number of trees to be affected as DPR was prepared five years ago, the Bench said that this cannot be a reason to hold that TEC has not carried out examination of trees falling in the alignment of metro project in terms of memorandum of procedure approved by the Court in December 2020 on how TEC has to carry out its task.

Road project

Meanwhile, the Court also permitted the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) to fell 18 trees and translocate 9 trees as per TEC’s recommendations for the ‘Bengaluru surrounding roads’ project. The Bench noted that the work on the project has been halted only due to pendency of KRDCL’s plea to fell remaining 27 trees.

However, the Bench directed that additional compensatory plantation will have to carried out by the KRDCL on the recommendations to be made by the TEC in this regard.